Escaflowne: Mirrors
by Jameson
Summary: After the series ends, things are not quite right on Earth or on Gaea, and it will take everyone on both sides of the parallel to sort it out. Hitomi runs into doubles of her friends on Earth...Will they help her save Van?Unfinished Ep 21... Ep1 edit up!
1. Default Chapter

Escaflowne: Mirrors 

Episode 1: Eeriness

Fanelia was going back up. Slowly. The palace at Urthras was near completion, the last of the structures in the valley to be repaired. Young King Van Fanel had taken time from his constant overseeing to sit alone his new throne room. The royal seat was, for now, no more than a very high backed wooden chair. He sat sideways, his knees over the armrest, staring at the pendant hanging between his hands. 'There could have been two thrones in here,' he thought, gazing at the pink stone as it moved on the end of its golden chain. He could remember its rightful owner. Hitomi's face smiled at him from his heart. He missed her. He loved her. Van's brown eyes slipped out of focus as he stared past the pendant and into another realm. The magic pendant took spark and cast pink light on his face. He could see through to the Mystic Moon. Hitomi was in her bedroom doing homework. She hadn't changed in half a year; she still had that boyish haircut and those big green eyes. The 15 year old glanced out the bedroom window and saw him hanging in the tree outside. He met her eyes for a moment and smiled. She grinned back and waved to him. He waved slightly, the pendant swinging back and forth in his hands. This was all he ever got of her, just a glimpse through a window, or on the other side of a street, or waiting on a dock or across a room. He wanted to call to her, but even now he was being pulled back to his own world and in a second the light had faded and he was draped again across his throne staring at the wall. The pendant hung inanimate in his hand. Van's eyes re-focused and closed as he sighed.

Merle, a 13-year-old cat girl, poked in the door of the hollow chamber. Letting her ears droop, she sighed as well. It didn't take much to figure out who Van was thinking of. The feline hated to see him sad, and working up a bit of determination, ventured in to end his pining. "Lord Van?"

He clenched the pendant in his brown-gloved hand and looked to her, trying on a smile. "Merle. Hey."

"Hey," she answered, she scampered up next to him and sat at the foot of his chair. "Don't be sad, Lord Van, I love you."

Her words, though well meant, made him flinch. He undraped himself from the throne and stood, pulling the necklace back over his dark bushy hair. "Come on, Merle, there's still work to do." The cat girl's ears drooped again. Feeling defeated, she followed him out of the chamber.

Van hurried to one of the many construction sites, needing commotion to distract him. He knew the half-finished dining hall would have both enough people and noise to do the trick. When he walked in, the head contractor looked up from his plans. "Hail King Van!"

Several crewmembers looked up at the cry and saluted. "Hail to the King!"

Van waved to them and they returned to their work. The king headed over to scan the blueprints with the foreman. "It's moving fast."

"We're working very hard to finish your palace for you, Lord Van." He answered. "You deserve it for putting the city first."

"Thank you." Van said. "Keep up the good work."

"Yessir!" The foreman said with a proud nod.

Van moved through the hall to the open end where only the floor stood and looked over the new Fanelia. Everywhere, buildings were being fleshed out, women made merry decorating new houses, men painted signs for new business, workers built new buildings, all citizens working together to make a new and prosperous country. Van sighed again, that sad note still in the sound. Merle tried again to brighten his spirits; she plopped down by his feet and hung her legs over the side of the ledge. "Wow! Fanelia's pretty, huh Van? I think it's prettier than the old one!"

He was staring blankly again down to the cobblestone drive in front of the palace. Everything around him reminded him of Hitomi. She was with him when they'd begun reconstruction. He saw her in the layout of the city. He heard her voice in the sound of the people's chatter. He wished to hear that voice again.

Below, a carriage pulled up. Van didn't see it through his funk until a young woman climbed out. His eyes snapped onto her, all else forgotten. Merle jumped back to his side. "Hey! Who's she? Doesn't she seem familiar?"

Van was speechless. All he saw were a pair of big green eyes.

Hitomi Kanzaki thought of Van too. She lived her life alone on Earth like a normal teenage girl. When she hung out with her friends or woke up in her own bed it seemed like she'd never been to Gaea and the whole event had been a very elaborate dream. But every time she ran into Amano she'd remember. Amano was supposed to move just before all this trouble started, but his plans changed shortly thereafter. He was a senior at her school, now, and dating her best friend Yukari. He reminded her of Allen.

Passing Amano on the street, she would remember everything anew. His hair and eyes were different, but his voice, manner, and feel were the same. With Allen Schezar in her mind, it didn't take long to think of Van. She still saw Van from time to time. He would appear when he wished to, sitting by the docks, out a window, or on the breeze. She always saw him, his Draconian wings spread, framed in golden light and wearing her magic pendant. They would smile at each other, and he would vanish. Her heart ached for him. Just when she thought she was moving on with her life, he would appear and remind her of the sweet love she'd found, and she'd long to go back.

One day in the fall of her sophomore year, she was feeling lonely. "Why hasn't Van come?" She said into her schoolbag. It was seven months since she'd left Gaea, and four weeks since she'd last seen her angel appear. "It's been so long…has he forgotten about me?"

"Hi Hitomi!" Yukari chirped, plopping down next to her. "How's it going?"

"Hi Yukari," Hitomi sighed. "I'm a little off-beat today."

"Aw, how come?" She asked, growing suddenly wary. "Wait, you're not upset about last night are you? I mean, the two of us were supposed to go to the movies, but you understand he wanted me to meet his family, so…"

"Stop worrying about that." She replied. "I told you that was okay, I don't mind about you and Amano. I'm glad you could meet his family." Hitomi turned her eyes back to her bag. "You two are destined for each other."

"Why do you always say it like that?" Yukari asked. "You sound bitter."

"I'm not, I swear!" Hitomi cried. "I heard someone say that when you two started going out. You've been together half a year now, right?"

"Yeah, Amano and I are really in love." Yukari answered.

Hitomi glanced back out the window. "I wonder if Millerna and Allen are so lucky."

She heard a voice speak to Yukari from the isle. It was familiar and her mind flashed immediately to the long blonde hair and blue eyes of the Knight Caeli standing at the end of a red-velvet hallway robed in blue and white. The image was fleeting, for the voice belonged, of course, to Amano.

"Yukari, you've got to help me. My family's in town all this week, I can't stand it!"

Hitomi turned and saw him standing tall above them, his light brown hair at chin level, framing his thin face. The train rocked as it made a sharp turn and Hitomi smiled up at him. "Sit down, Amano, stay a while."

He grinned at her, more Allen memories stabbing her, "Hi Hitomi, thanks." He sat down across from them, facing Yukari. Hitomi had a lump catch in her throat, today he even sat like Allen. The man across from them continued speaking, mostly to Yukari. "My crazy cousins have to stay at my house. I've spent one night with them. I can't stand another!"

"Oh, these are the twins?" Yukari asked. "Huka and Suka?"

"Hakai and Suru." Amano corrected.

"Names aside, these are the two future axe murderers?"

"Axe murderers?" Hitomi cried.

Amano turned and explained. "Destructo Kids. Last night at dinner, it took them less than half an hour for Suru to try and set her shrimp free and Hakai to set the tablecloth on fire. Generally, they can't decide whether to kill their toys or save them, but the most destructive part of it is their speed! Suru is just a twelve-year-old girl, but she plays rough! She'll play with a toy until she kills it. Hakai plays _to_ kill it!"

Hitomi waved a hand. "They sound like normal kids to me."

"Do you know how long their pet goldfish lasted?" Amano pressed. "Twelve minutes. Twelve minutes for them to make it comfortable, feed it, torture it, and bury it. A GOLDFISH! With Suru, I'm surprised she didn't stuff it and play racquetball with it!"

"Amano! That's terrible!" Yukari cried. He raised he eyebrows at her. The look made her accept his testimony as fact. "And they're staying with you all week?"

He nodded.

"Well," Yukari received a sudden blast of inspiration, "why don't you come and stay at my house for a while?"

"Yukari!" Hitomi cried.

"Don't freak, Hitomi." Yukari shot. "He can stay in my guest room. It'll be fun! We can stay up late and watch movies and talk…"

Hitomi shook her head disapprovingly. "Just don't pull another Chid on me, Amano."

Amano gave her a strange look but she'd returned to breathing into her backpack, he turned instead to Yukari for clarification. The red-head shrugged, stood, and took his hand. "C'mon, let's leave Hitomi alone, she's having a bad day." The two of them left her to plan their evening.

The poles of the electric train line ran by. Tokyo passed lazily in the distance. The thought of Allen and Chid made her think of Millerna again. Theirs was a complicated relationship full of polygons. Millerna seemed smitten in spite of it all. Hitomi had thought her noble, but lovesick. The tarot cards had predicted that Allen was Millerna's match. Hitomi wished her the best. They had become good friends on Gaea. She missed her too.

"Hitomi?"

Her green eyes snapped open as a chill raced down her spine. She thought she'd heard Millerna's voice. There was a momentary adrenaline rush. Had she phased back to Gaea? Could she see Van again? Again these hopes were dashed. When she snapped her head around, she found a girl about her age with raven hair, bouncy curls and big green-blue eyes. Hitomi sighed, disappointed again. "Hi, Jiai."

"Hitomi? Can I ask you something?" Jiai ventured, sweetly. She was very much like Millerna. Hitomi'd always thought so. Perhaps that was the reason the two of them had become such fast friends over summer.

"Sure, Jiai, sit down."

Jiai's worried look wouldn't let Millerna escape from her mind. "You see, uh, I have this friend…" Hitomi froze for a second. Maybe it was because she was missing Van so much, but her friends had suddenly gotten creepily familiar. Even more so than usual. Creepy to the point that Hitomi forgot to dismiss the similarity as romantic whimsy. Jiai continued, staring into her lap where she was twiddling her fingers. "She…she likes this guy. But, he likes someone else. One of her friends. And even though my friend really likes him, she's afraid to take him away because then her friend wont be her friend anymore. But even if my friend does tell this guy how she feels, she's afraid he won't feel the same about her and things'll be weird between them for the rest of their lives…"

Hitomi didn't pause a moment. "You like Amano."

Jiai jumped back in surprise. "How could you tell?"

"I've learned to see through the "I have a friend" thing." Hitomi said. "And besides, who doesn't have a crush on Allen?"

"Who?"

"Amano." Hitomi corrected, flushing red for a moment. "I mean, I was really head-over-heels for him for a while too."

"What changed you mind?" Jiai pressed.

"I saw how much Yukari liked him, and thought that they belonged together more."

"Oh." Jiai didn't find her comforting. "I guess that's okay, but I've still got problems. And although I've gotten to know Yukari from hanging out with you, I can't get over how much I like him."

"What do you like about him?" Hitomi asked, trying to reason with her.

"Well, he's gorgeous for one…" She sighed.

Hitomi nodded, but she was applying the lessons of love she'd learned in Gaea to the world she was facing now. Skin-deep beauty wasn't everything. In fact, it was practically nothing if you don't know what's on the inside. If you truly love someone for who they are, then they will be beautiful to you. But she still had to admit that Amano, and Allen, were very beautiful people on the outside.

"And he's so, I don't know, regal. He's charming."

"Yeah." Allen and Millerna syndrome. Every relationship had a parallel to Gaea. This one fit the A+M definition. One loves the other, but the other loves another. Hitomi sighed. "I can't tell you what to do, Jiai."

"I guess not." Jiai said. "I mean, you liked Amano, too. You probably can't tell me how to deal with it."

"Jiai…" Hitomi started.

"Hey, I tell you what…" Jiai said, changing the subject. "You seem kinda bummed, let's go into the city and do some shopping after school today, huh?"

"Oh, I don't know…" Hitomi answered.

"Come on! You usually love shopping!" Jiai insisted. "It'll be fun!"

"Okay." She finally agreed. "Since you're so gung-ho about it." The train coasted to a stop in their station and Jiai jumped up.

"Great! It's gonna be a lot of fun, you'll see! Wow, I'm really excited now, thanks Hitomi! Let's get to school so we can get it over with and go out."

Despite Jiai's cheer, the walk from the station to campus was still depressing. Hitomi kept hoping to see Van's wings when she glanced around the streets. In class she would stare out the window as much as she could, hoping that he would be floating there. She steadily felt herself losing hope. 'Its been a month.' She thought. 'A month since I last saw him outside my bedroom window.' Her head sank into her crossed arms as the leaves rustled in the breeze through the window of her last period class. 'He comes when he wants to. When he wishes to. Doesn't he miss me like I miss him? I feel so lonely. Did he find someone on Gaea that he likes better? I miss him and everyone there. Why do I have to be stuck here? I love the people here, but I liked it so much better there. Amano loves Yukari, Yukari spends her time with him, my mom's never home, I see Van and Allen in my dreams; why do I belong to both worlds?'

"Miss Kanzaki!"

Her head snapped up. "Yes sir?"

The teacher was erasing the blackboard. Hitomi noticed that the rest of her classmates had left. "Didn't' you hear the bell ring?"

"Oh…no." Hitomi answered. She got up, packed her bag, and headed for the door. "Thanks, Mr. Yamasaki."

Track hadn't begun for the year, so she headed past the locker room headed for the common. Green grass and trees professed a sense of happiness to the world, but without Van, their efforts were in vain. She heard a laugh that could have been Allen's, but recognized it as Amano's. He was having fun talking with a couple of his track buddies. She tried to smile, but felt like she was lying to herself and gave up. "Maybe it would be better if I just forgot about Gaea altogether." She grumbled to herself. "Then I wouldn't have these problems and everything would be good again."

Jiai called to her from across the quad. Hitomi stopped and waited as the dark curled girl approached. "Hitomi? Where are you going? We were going shopping in town, remember?"

Hitomi's mood had only worsened as the day went on. "Jiai, I don't know…"

"Hitomi! You promised!" Jiai cried. "You can't tell me 'no' now! I've been looking forward to this all day!"

"Well…"

"Come on! You'll have fun, I know it!" Jiai pleaded. "Please?"

With Millerna's eyes staring at her, Hitomi couldn't decline. She tucked her hands around her bag strap and looked into the grass. "Okay."

"Great!" Jiai brightened immediately and grabbed her friend's hand. "Come on, let's hurry and catch the train into the shopping center so we can start right away!"

"Jiai!" Hitomi was yanked along by the wrist, running behind the girl. The action was somewhat therapeutic, and she felt better as they went. They headed up a hill, their bags bouncing about behind them. When they got to the top, they saw that the uptown train had already pulled into the station.

"Ahh! We're going to miss it!" Jiai cried. They took off break-neck down the hill. Running was sloppy at such a dramatic angle. They nearly fell a couple times, and Hitomi was forced to smile with the thrill of it. The two girls arrived just as the train was closing up and squeezed into the first car. Jiai flopped them down in the front seat, panting and laughing. "We made it!"

"I thought we'd wipe out before we got here!" Hitomi cried.

Jiai grinned. "See, you're smiling already! I knew this trip would do you some good!"

Hitomi felt her new smile fade. Her mind had been off Van for that brief moment, but now she saw the empty trees through the front window. The train rolled along the tacks ahead of them, the evenly spaced trees moving by one by one. It reminded her of riding on Escaflowne's shoulder with Van in the cockpit. She could see him smiling at her. She lost herself in the images. She could see him as she always did; smiling with his wings spread, but it was only her imagination. It made her depressed again.

Through the front window, the sun glinted off white wings. This was real, she came back from her mind's eye, but it was only a dove, flitting out of a tree. The bird flew in front of the train, gliding gently and serenely on its downy feathers. The windshield caught up quickly and Hitomi's eyes widened in horror as the creature smacked the pane and fell off, its beautiful white wings crumpled as it vanished alongside the train. Jiai stood up in alarm. "Oh my gosh!"

But Hitomi's heart broke as she felt the sting of doom hit her gut. Those wings; she'd seen them smash and break right in front of her! She threw up her hands and trembled, her eyes welling with tears of shock and terror. Covering her face, she began sobbing uncontrollably.

Jiai turned to her quickly. "Hitomi?" She sat down and put her arm around her friend. "Hitomi? Are you okay?"

Hitomi kept crying. She kept seeing the event over and over, Van growing stronger in her mind until he replaced the bird completely, smashing again and again against the solid barrier, his white feathers flying as his brilliant wings crippled and sent him tumbling by. She couldn't stand it. She couldn't drive it from her mind. She cried more.

"Hitomi, it's okay." Jiai comforted. "I'm sure the bird is fine. We weren't going all that fast I don't think…"

"No it…" Hitomi sniffled. "It's not that… It's…"

"Tell me what's wrong." Jiai pleaded.

"You wouldn't believe me." Hitomi told her.

"Of course I'll believe you!" Jiai insisted. "Please tell me why you're so sad all the time!" Hitomi looked to her friend, her tealish eyes and dark hair fading into the blue and gold of Princess Millerna. Jiai stared intently. "Please."

Hitomi's eyes trembled. Millerna would understand. Jiai seemed so much like her. Hitomi, for the first time, felt like it was all right to share her secret. "Okay."

"So it's a different world?"

"Yeah." Hitomi confirmed

"And the guy you love is still there and you're here?"

"That's right." She wiped her eyes and looked to the girl next to her. "You don't believe me do you?"

"It's outrageous, Hitomi." Jiai answered. "But I guess anything's possible. And I know you wouldn't lie to me." The girl put her hand over Hitomi's. "And anyway, whether it was real or just a dream, being separated from someone you love and loves you back feels the same no matter how it came about."

"Jiai." Hitomi sighed. She smiled a little. "Thanks."

The train stopped and they stood up. Jiai grinned at her. "Well, now that I know what's wrong, I'd be happy to help." Hitomi wasn't sure what sort of help Jiai could give, but the dark haired girl glanced to the shopping mall out the door and cheerfully interrupted her thoughts. "Let's have fun for now! You can't let yourself be depressed about something you can do nothing about. And even if this Van can't see you, he'd want you to be happy, right?"

"You're right, Jiai, lets get off this train." She glanced quickly to the windshield but couldn't stare long. "And lets never ride in the front again."

Jiai smiled as if Hitomi were making a joke. "Okay, you got it!" They left the train station and entered the Tokyo shopping district. The place was packed with people buying everything from food and clothes to toys and movies. The girls saw tons of different uniforms on girls from other schools. Jiai and Hitomi glanced around the many storefronts, reading the bright welcome signs and trying to decide where to go first. Jiai looked over to her friend. "Anything you're shopping for?"

"No, I can't think of anything I need to get." She answered.

"Well, I really could use a new dress for weekends. I mean, the weather's changing and all. Plus, if I want to impress Amano, I've got to look my best!"

"You're hopeless." Hitomi sighed, but she couldn't help grinning a little at the girl's lovesickness. It was like looking in a mirror from the past. Jiai headed for a clothing store. Inside, they found racks and racks of the newest fashions. There were mannequins posed like they were sharing a secret next to the door.

Jiai took one look and cried out with delight. "This is perfect!" She grabbed the hem of the mannequin's dress and stretched it across her front. "Isn't it great?"

"It's not your color." Hitomi answered. "You can't really wear that yellow with your skin tone."

"Your right I guess." She said. "But hey! They probably have it in different colors. Lets go and find it. You can get one too."

"Nah, out of my price range." Hitomi sighed.

Jiai leveled her eyes on her. "Perk up." They headed deeper into the store. Pop music was playing overhead. Hitomi scanned racks as they went. Faded jeans, sparkles, product logos, boy bands; the fashions of today had turned so material. On Gaea, everything seemed so medieval. You could tell where a person came from just by the clothes they wore. Everyone looked the same around here. Being unique was unappreciated. Jiai found the rack of dresses she wanted and turned smiling. "Look at all these! They've got every color you could want! You could find one to suit you easily, Hitomi. Why don't you try one on?"

"Jiai," Hitomi objected.

Jiai took one of them off the rack and held it up to her friend. "This green one really brings out your eyes."

"I'm not looking for a dress, thanks." Hitomi answered. "But find one for yourself. I'll tell you how you look in it."

Jiai looked disappointed. "Okay, if that's what you want." She circled the rack, picking out colors. She took up a red one and a violet one. "Which is better? Red or Purple?"

"Try both." Hitomi suggested.

"Okay." Jiai agreed. "And I'll take your green one too. I look good in green sometimes. Maybe I'll make you jealous." She laughed and looked to Hitomi. "Don't you want to find anything to try on? I feel bad having you sit there while I shop."

"I'm fine, really." Hitomi insisted. "Go ahead." They made their way to the dressing rooms, which were a line of doors at the back of the store. Jiai claimed a middle one and Hitomi plopped down in a chair just in front of it, dropping her bag by her feet. She thought that now would be a good time to have the conversation that had been nagging at her. "You know, Jiai, I think you should give up on Amano."

"What? Why?"

"Because he's taken." Hitomi answered. "I've made that mistake before." She looked both ways before providing an example. "On Gaea, I liked a guy named Allen who was a lot like Amano. But my friend Millerna liked him already. When I told him how I felt, she got really mad at me."

"Did he like you back?"

"Yes, but, " Hitomi answered, "but it felt bad to have hurt Millerna, even to the point of wishing I hadn't done it."

"So you're protecting Yukari?" Jiai asked.

"No, yes, but I'm protecting you too. I don't want you to do something you'll regret."

"Is that why you gave Amano to Yukari in the first place?" Jiai asked, her voice sounding very serious through the dressing-room door. "Because of what happened with Allen?"

"Well…" She'd never recognized that before. Was it Allen who had convinced her to give up Amano? It was he and Millerna that had taught her to be more sensitive to other's feelings. Perhaps Jiai was right.

"But you didn't end up with Allen." Jiai recalled. "What happened with that?"

"Things got complicated." Hitomi answered. "Millerna loved Allen, but she was marrying Dryden, and I told her the two of them would have good fortune so that I could keep Allen for myself. Bbut he told me that he had an illegitimate child… and that he loved me because I reminded him of his little sister…. I think I lost my confidence in his feelings. The only person he ever really loved was Marlene, and when he lost her he spent the rest of his life trying to replace her."

"I can see how you would feel that way." Jiai answered. "But what has any of that to do with Amano?"

"Well, Allen and Amano…" Hitomi was trying hard to explain explain her logic to herself as well as to Jiai. This conversation was helping her understand more, even if it only proved how confused she really was. "They're so much alike. I mean, the face and the voice.."

"Just because Amano reminds you of Allen doesn't mean Amano IS Allen. I mean, Amano doesn't have an illegitimate child, or a lost love, or even a little sister! You are just missing the people in your dream world, that all."

"It's not a dream world! It's real!" Hitomi insisted. "And I don't know what to think! Something tells me that if you break Yukari and Amano up, it will be like… like Allen and Marlene! It'll start a downward spiral and you'll regret it in the end. I don't want you to get hurt!"

"I thought you said you'd quit fortune telling." Jiai said, flatly.

"I'm not – I'm – " Hitomi pulled at her short brownish hair in frustration. "I'm sorry. I don't want to argue with you. I'm just telling you how I feel about the situation, that's all. I'm not telling you what to do. Do we have to fight like this?"

Jiai opened the door. She was wearing the red dress, but looked less than cheerful. "I don't want to fight with you either. And I appreciate you being honest with me." She brightened a little bit and twirled. "So how's the red?"

"I think it looks good!" Hitomi answered. "It's great with your hair! I like it!"

"Really?" Jiai asked. "I was kinda expecting you to say something bad about it."

"No, I think it works really well." Hitomi insisted. "Try on the other ones and I'll tell you which is best."

"Okay." Jiai agreed, happy again. "Do you feel better? Getting that out of your system?"

"I do, actually." Hitomi answered. "I guess it was bothering me more than I thought."

"Maybe all you have to do is talk." Jiai suggested from inside the dressing room. "What else would you like to tell me about Gaea? Did you have a lot of good times?"

Hitomi thought a minute. "No, actually, we spent most of the time fighting a war, but I fell in love with the people there. They were all so individual. They were irreplaceable. I think that's why I miss being there so much."

Jiai emerged in the violet dress and modeled it. "How's this?"

"That one's pretty too!" Hitomi replied. "It's nice with your eyes, but the color is a little flat. If you're really going to want to get a guy's attention, you've got to look alive and exciting! It'd choose the red over that one."

"Okay. I've got one more." Jiai said, retreating back into the dressing room. "So, who were all of your friends on Gaea? I know Allen…who else?"

"There was Allen, and Millerna, and Dryden. Then of course Van, and Merle and the guys on the Crusade… Me, Allen and Van spent the most time together. They wall became like family to me."

"It must have been nice." Jiai said.

"It was." Hitomi answered. "It really was."

Jiai came back out in the green dress. "How's this?"

"It makes your eyes look totally green." Hitomi answered then continued, sounding professional. "I mean, if that's what you want to happen. I think you could use this color with more blue in it."

"So you think I should get the red one?"

Hitomi nodded.

Jiai took a look at the red dress that was hanging on the inside of the door. "All right. I like it too! I'm gonna get it." She went in to change back into her school clothes.

"How much is it?" Hitomi asked.

"On sale? 25,000 yen."

Hitomi whistled. "Too high for me for just one thing."

"We're in the game of love!" Jiai announced. "We must be daring!"

"Are you including me in that proclamation or are you speaking about yourself in the third person?" Hitomi asked. "Because you know, I am a conqueror in the game of love! I've got Van, remember?"

Jiai reappeared; she didn't remark on what Hitomi had said, but wore a knowing look. Hitomi was reminded about her love's leave of absence. The curly-haired girl moved to the counter where she handed over her money and received her purchase in a bag. They stepped out of the store. "So where now?"

"Wherever you want." Hitomi answered. "This is your shopping trip."

Jiai scanned the mall and saw a bookstore. "Hey! You keep up with manga?"

"I used to." Hitomi answered.

"I've got this one I follow that I just LOVE!" Jiai announced. "I'm gonna go check and see if the new issue is out yet, okay?"

"I'll go where you go!" Hitomi agreed. They forced their way through the crowd to wait at crosswalk. The massive amount of cars going either way stopped and they moved across the road with a clan of other pedestrians. It was easy to loose their conversation in the noise of the street.

"So, what was your boyfriend like?" Jiai asked.

"Van was the king." Hitomi answered.

"Oh sure he was!" Jiai scoffed.

"No! He was!" Hitomi insisted. "I escaped with him when his country was attacked. From there on, I hung out with him. My tarot card readings tended to tell the truth, so I was useful in finding out where things were and what was going to happen. It ended up, of course, that the world was being affected by my readings and changing to match them instead of the readings matching what was going to happen, so I had to leave. That's why I gave up fortune telling."

"I'm confused." Jiai reported.

"I'm sorry, I guess it is kinda confusing." Hitomi apologized. "But that's the reason I can't go back. I was making things bad by being there. I wish it were different." She sighed. "And I miss Van."

"Why is it that Van would appear sometimes? You said he'd appear right?" Jiai asked.

"Yeah, I gave him my magic pendant." Hitomi answered. "To make a long story short, it grants wishes. When he really misses me and wants to check on me, the pendant brings him to me."

"Oh, that must be hard, you can't really move on with your life with him appearing all the time."

"He hasn't come in a while." Hitomi answered, again crestfallen, "maybe he's moved on without me."

Jiai understood her concern, "I'm sorry. I'm sure it's not what you think. He's probably just really busy or something. Maybe someone got sick or maybe he had to face a national crisis… you said that he was the king. There could be a ton of reasons why he hasn't thought about you in a while."

"But I think about him every day!" Hitomi said. "If only I had the pendant instead of him! Then I could see him every time I wanted to instead of the other way around."

"Well, if worse comes to worse, and he has moved on with his life, then I think you should do the same." Jiai said. "I mean, don't give up yet, but if he doesn't show up again in a really long time, you have to accept the idea that he doesn't love you anymore and find someone else."

"Jiai!" Hitomi choked. "Don't say things like that!"

"Okay! I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Jiai apologized. "I'm just doing what you did for me right? I'm telling you my take on the situation. I'm not saying that I'm right."

"It's okay." Hitomi assured. They made it to the bookstore and went in. There was a coffee shop in the corner where adults were drinking mocha and reading newspapers. Jiai headed back to the comics section and flipped through the thick manga novels, looking for the latest printing. Hitomi browsed around for something to spark her interest. She spotted a rack of magazines near the checkout counter and headed over. Putting her bag down next to her, she picked up a teen mag and began flipping through it. Behind her, she heard the deep voice of a college-age man talking on a cell-phone. The magazine slipped out of her hand and onto the floor when she heard.

"No, seriously, if you put the whole load in Pepsico, then everything is affected with the slightest market fluctuation. When you've got upwards of a thousand bucks in only one stock, you can lose hundreds of dollars in one day's playing. Split it up and put it in other ones too. I know that Pepsi is doing well…that's why you've got to be prepared for a fall. Everything that goes up must come down sometime. There's wisdom in the saying "buy low sell high". I say split the amount into smaller chunks and invest them in various things. And don't buy all soda companies either. I mean, invest in food, electronics, social services, just a lot of different stuff so that when one field is doing well, we can benefit from it. And put some in gold too. Yes, I'm sure. Gold goes up when the economy goes down. It's a stabilizer. Gold and Silver are the stabilizers of the investment community. Trust me, it's my money, I know the stock market…"

Hitomi spun around. The man was leaning backward on the counter. He was tall, with wavy brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. His skin had a tan-orange tone to it, and he was dressed in slacks and a polo shirt. He didn't notice her and continued his conversation. She studied him to a minute detail. He was reading the swimsuit issue of some magazine while talking, his intelligent green eyes taking stock of both the girls and the money simultaneously. Even though he was clean-shaven, dressed nicer, wear his bangs longer and his ponytail lower, in the end there was no denying… "Dryden?"

The man didn't answer her, the name having no affect on his split interest. "No, I don't care…Hey, you know me, Rick, I'm good for anything. Yeah, honestly. Just take my advice; you wont regret it. Great. What are you doing tonight? Really? With Rei? Oh a new one then…" He laughed, his mouth opened wide and his whole body shaking heartily. It only made Hitomi more certain. "Right. Well, if you two want to come along I've got tickets to that big concert tonight. I don't know, some rock band. Hey! I'm the son of a rich politician! I don't care how expensive it is, I'm going to spend it because I don't know any better. Right. Okay, I'll see you at eight then? Right? No I'll pick you up. Got a favorite convertible you want to be driven in? No, I'm just kidding, I only have the red one. Okay, I'll see you." He folded up the phone and stuck it in his back pocket. Hitomi stepped tentatively forward, reaching out a little. He turned the other way and called to the cashier behind the counter. "Yo, I'm checking out!"

Hitomi tried to speak, slowly overcoming her shock and confusion. 'Is it really Dryden? I mean, it looks like Dryden. He talks like Dryden, even though I doubt Dryden would know so much about the stock market. I guess it depends on how long he's been on Earth. How could he have gotten here?' There were so many questions she had to ask him, but he hadn't seemed to notice her. He shoved the magazine over the counter.

"I'll take this."

"Oh! Yes Mr. Seijitsu! Whatever you'd like!" The eager young stock boy said.

"Call me Daiji, kid, Mr. Seijitsu makes me sound like an old man." The customer replied.

Hitomi stopped. 'Daiji? Seijitsu? That's not right'

"That would be 1,500 sir!" The boy said.

Daiji handed over a five. "Keep the change, kid."

"Thanks Mr. Seijitsu! Or…I mean Mr. Daiji, sir!" The stock boy grinned. Daiji rolled up his magazine and stuck it in the pocket with the phone, then turned and headed out of the store.

Hitomi couldn't let him leave, not without an explanation. Jiai came up behind her, ready to say something, but Hitomi spoke first. "Dry – I mean Daiji!"

He turned around in the middle of sliding on a pair of sunglasses, the scene nearly struck her to the floor. Those green eyes and a pair of sunglasses made Dryden nearly jump out of her memory. Daiji withdrew the glasses and looked quizzically at her. "Yes? Do I know you?"

Hitomi stammered. "I…uh…yes…I think so… you're-"

He strode over and bent down to look into her face. "Hmm…no, I don't think I know you. What's your name?"

"K-Kanzaki. Hitomi Kanzaki." She answered, still shaken by the strangeness.

"Name's not familiar." He concluded, then reached down and shook her hand. "Nice meeting you, though. Gotta run." With that, the glasses went on and he strode out of the store.

Jiai nearly squealed. "Oh my gosh! Hitomi! Do you know who that was?" Hitomi stared at her hands, almost certain about who it was but very confused as to why he had a different name and didn't know her. Jiai was hopping up an down. "That was Daiji Seijitsu! Representative Seijitsu's SON!"

Hitomi turned and grabbed Jiai's arms. "That was Dryden!"

"What?" Jiai cried.

"Dryden! From Gaea!"

"No it wasn't!" Jiai insisted. "It was Daiji! He's famous! I can't believe you don't know him."

"I swear it was Dryden! He must have gotten to Earth somehow after I left!"

"No, Daiji has been on Earth all his life, Hitomi." Jiai insisted sounding a little irritated.

"That can't be!" Hitomi cried. "That was Dryden! It had to be him!" There had to be some way to find out exactly who he was. She got an idea and grabbed Jiai's hand. "Come on! I've got to find out!" She yanked Jiai toward the door. The dark haired girl grabbed Hitomi's bag off the floor and let herself be pulled out of the building. Hitomi made her way hastily to an Internet café. There she slapped down some money and took a seat in front of one of the computers. "Here, you'll see. I'll show you." Jiai crossed her arms and watched as Hitomi pulled up a search for 'Fassa, Dryden' and got nothing. She tried 'Dryden Fassa' next and again got nothing. "What's wrong with this?"

"Try Seijitsu, Daiji." Jiai suggested. Hitomi punched it in and they got a lot of fansites as well as many news and school listings. Hitomi clicked one. She found his information along with a picture. It looked like it was all in order. They had his age, birthday and birthplace, even time. There was a photo gallery full of stolen pictures of Daiji as a kid, even one as a baby with his mother and father, the Representative. She recognized the politician from the news. Jiai leaned on the back of Hitomi's seat. "See, what'd I tell you?"

Hitomi put her face in her hands. "But I was so sure!"

"He's just like Amano and that guy Allen." Jiai said. "They look a lot alike so you identify them with each other. It's a simple mistake. You don't have to be ashamed of it."

"But he didn't just look like Dryden! He talked and acted like Dryden! It was him I tell you!" Hitomi ranted. "Maybe I'm just going crazy."

"You're lovesick." Jiai reassured. "You're entitled to hallucinate." She looked up at the pictures on the screen. "But, you've got to admit, Daiji is one hot guy. He's good looking, he's rich, and he's smart! Totally dreamy!"

"I thought you liked Amano." Hitomi accused.

Jiai looked defensive. "I do! Daiji's an idol! There's no way I could ever end up with HIM! Amano's my 'guy I actually have a chance with' crush."

Hitomi looked back on the event. Perhaps Jiai was right again. This encounter had been just like her experiences with Amano. It was because she was so homesick for Gaea. She guessed that if she'd run into Mr. Seijitsu on a day that she didn't have Gaea on the brain, she wouldn't have even thought of Dryden. She looked up to Jiai. "You're right. It's just me and my imagination. I'm sorry for dragging you around like that."

"It's okay. They didn't have what I wanted anyway." Jiai said. "Let's get out of here. You up for a corn dog? They sell really good ones up at the A&W."

"Corndog? I guess so… I am a little hungry." Hitomi got up and followed Jiai out of the café. She was confused, Gaea, Earth, Allen, Amano, Dryden, Millerna… Everything was swimming around in her head. The people in the street moved by in a mass. She fiddled with the strap of her bag and stared at the ground in front of her as she followed Jiai down the street. Suddenly, she got a strange tingle up her spine. It was reminiscent of the feeling she would get when the invisible Guymelefs would march around the perimeter of her current residence on Gaea. It like something was there. She snapped her head up and beheld through the crowd, a pair of brown eyes.

Her world froze in an instant, her eyes stuck wide and her mouth gaping. That look, that face, she knew exactly who it was. He glanced through the crowd, his head barely visible between the shadows of other people. Everything faded to gray except for his face as he broke eye contact and moved away, across the street. Away from her. He was leaving.

"VAN!"

Jiai spun around. "Hitomi!"

She had to follow him. After all of her waiting…she'd found him. He was here! But he was leaving her. He'd seen her and he was leaving her! She had to catch him! She couldn't let him go! Not after all that had happened that day! Not after all her time of waiting! Not without an explanation, or a word, or at least another look! She took off after him, shoving people aside, and making her way toward the road. "VAN!"

"Hitomi!" Jiai shoved her way after her. "Hitomi! WAIT!"

Hitomi struggled through the crowd, Van's profile crossing the street at the crosswalk a few yards ahead. She made it to the curb, mind set on reaching him. He reached the other side, the light changed, her bag dropped off her shoulder as she took off into the street. Cars began moving. Jiai screamed as the grill of a compact headed for Hitomi. The wheels squealed and it bumped her legs. Hitomi was unhindered; she shoved her way over the hood and ran across the street.

Traffic jammed, Jiai followed in between the cars. "HITOMI!"

The girl broke into her track run, cutting between the people who'd stopped to see what had happened. She could see his back ahead as it moved from her. She was closing in; it wasn't far. She'd get to him. She'd reach him and then they'd be together again. This was more than a golden glint of him out the window. She'd finally get to touch him, to hug him, to kiss him… Together! All she had to do was catch him. And he was just ahead.

Jiai was right behind, both bags on her shoulder. "Hitomi! What are you doing? Come back!"

The crowd had thinned out. He was still walking away. It was a clear shot to him. She called his name. "VAN!" The boy turned, warily. She tripped, and flew into him, his reflexes grabbed her elbows in a familiar grip. She fell against a warm chest. It was Van, it smelled like Van, it felt like Van. She looked up, winded into his brown eyes, but found to her dismay, they were under a head of orange hair. Her heart pounded until it broke. Doom, grief, fear, disbelief, anger, and cold dread hit her all at once. The world went black and she passed out in his arms.

She woke up on a couch, staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. Millerna's voice was distinguishable amidst the haze of her brain. "Look! She's waking up!" Hitomi had a flash of hope and sprung up, only to find the voice coming out of Jiai's throat. "Hitomi!" Jiai was thrilled, but Hitomi's heart sank again. She fell back onto the couch. Jiai patted her on the shoulder.

A boy's voice was heard…Van's voice…causing Hitomi's eyes to water and tear. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine I think." Jiai answered.

Hitomi looked up and saw the orange-haired boy there with a bucket of water and a towel. She cried, her lips twitching with her breaking heartstrings. "Van?"

"Hitomi, this is Yosu Takara." Jiai introduced. "We're at his house. We brought you here when you fainted in the street."

Hitomi turned over and sobbed into her arms again. It wasn't Van. She had been so sure. She lost all hope that she would ever see Van again.

Yosu cocked an eyebrow. "Are you sure she's okay?"

"Yeah, she's just been going through some tough stuff recently." Jiai answered, rubbing Hitomi's back. "Thanks again for letting us into your home."

"It's okay." Yosu answered. "I feel like I need to do something since she went though it all trying to get to me."

"She thought you were her lost love." Jiai explained. "It's so romantic, isn't it?"

"Whatever." Yosu replied. "I'm not the judge of stuff like that."

"It's too bad that you weren't Van." Jiai said. "She's been so lovesick for him." She looked up to him. "Who are you, really?"

"You know my name." He said, sitting down. "Yosu Takara. I go to the Arawasu Academy downtown. I was just on my way home when I ran into you. Or, you ran into me, as it ended up."

"We're from Kama Kita down the line, we were shopping. She's spent all day seeing people she didn't know and thinking they were someone else. It's really been an adventure." Jiai reported.

"Well, I can't wait to see how I explain you to my parents. My little sister should be home soon, and I can only wonder what she'll tell them when they get here."

"Hopefully Hitomi will have gotten better before then." Jiai said. "Just give her a minute or two to get it out of her system." Hitomi took offense to this, but tried to work herself down so that she could speak. She heaved a couple times, and wiped her eyes. Jiai turned to Yosu. "Could you go get her a glass of water please? That would help."

"Right." Yosu nodded. "Be right back." He left for the kitchen and returned with a full cup. He kneeled and handed it to her, pushing her nearly back into bawls as the very movement reminded her of her love. She took a couple difficult sips then looked up.

"I really thought it was Van! I would know Van if I saw him!"

Jiai gave her a blank expression. "This isn't Van, Hitomi."

Yosu blinked his brown eyes in confusion. Hitomi reached out and grabbed the collar of his school uniform. "You have to be! You've got to be Van! Don't lie to me!"

"I don't know who you're talking about." Yosu insisted. "Sorry."

"But you do know! You know!" Hitomi told him. "Tell me! Where's Escaflowne?"

"What?" Yosu cried.

"Escaflowne!" Hitomi urged. "You know? Escaflowne! Your Guymelef Escaflowne!" Yosu had a frightened look on his face as she yanked on his shirt. She was fighting against doubt. "You must have something named Escaflowne! A car? A dishwasher? A vacuum cleaner? What about an older brother? Didn't you have an older brother named Folken?"

"I don't have an older brother." Yosu replied. "I've got a younger sister."

"No you don't!" Hitomi cried. "You DON'T!"

"I'm sorry, uh..miss.. but I can't help having a little sister just because you don't like it!"

At that moment, the girl in question burst into the house. She had amber eyes, and blonde hair pulled up in short pigtails. Her voice filled the entire room as the door slammed open down the hall. "Yosu! I'm home!"

"We're in here, Neko!" Yosu called.

Hitomi looked up as the girl entered the room, then dropped the arm grasping Yosu's shirt. "No way."

"Whoa!" The girl took a start. "Yosu! Who the heck are they! You brought two girls in here! I'm gonna tell mom!"

"Jiai, Hitomi, this is my little sister Koneko." Yosu introduced. "She's annoying."

"Yosu, if Mom finds they're here, you're gonna be in so much trouble! You're gonna be grounded forever!" Koneko cried.

Hitomi looked up at the twelve-year-old. "It's Merle."

"What'd she say?" Koneko asked.

"Don't mind her, Koneko." Jiai said. "She's hallucinating."

"I'm not hallucinating!" Hitomi cried. "I can see that that's not Merle! But she acts a lot like her! See! I'm not crazy!"

"Sure." Yosu said, sarcastically.

"I'm not taking that from you!" Hitomi challenged. "You… Not Van!"

"I'm so hurt." Yosu replied.

"Hitomi, don't be so mean to Yosu!" Jiai demanded. "He's been very nice letting us in like this!"

"I suppose." Hitomi said, sitting up. "It's what Van would do."

Koneko dropped her school stuff and sat down next to Yosu. "So what do we do with them?"

"We'll go when Hitomi can get back on her feet." Jiai answered. "We don't want to be a problem."

"I'm fine." Hitomi answered. "We can go. It's so weird, though. I think I'm losing it."

"Maybe you should take time off school tomorrow and rest." Jiai suggested. "You'll understand more when you aren't so bogged down with work."

"Maybe you're right." Hitomi said. "But I can't skip school, that'd be the wrong thing to do. I'll just try to relax until the weekend, then I'll sleep the whole time."

"Okay, sounds like a plan."

Yosu still sat on the floor. "Um, excuse me, girls, but I'm still down here."

"Oh, yeah," Hitomi said, "What do you want?"

He stood up. "I don't know, It's just that this is my house and I feel like I need to … I dunno, be included or something."

"Well, since you aren't Van, you don't need to be concerned." Hitomi said, sharply.

Koneko stood up. If she'd had Merle's tail along with her voice, it'd be rigid. "Hey! Don't talk to my brother like that!"

"Hitomi…" Jiai challenged.

Hitomi glanced to all the angry faces, then let her shoulders slump, defeated. "I'm sorry, Yosu, I shouldn't be mad at you. It's not your fault that you're not Van."

"Uh, thanks I guess." Yosu said, presenting his hand.

She shook it. "Yeah…"

"Thanks again for letting us in your house." Jiai said, taking up their bags. "Maybe we'll see you around."

"Maybe." Yosu agreed. Koneko fumed to herself as the two girls moved to the door. Hitomi turned behind her when they stood in the stairwell of his apartment building. She looked back at him. He smiled at her and she gasped. It was too eerie to be real. He looked so much like Van, and that smile had melted her heart a million times. It wasn't fair that it was on someone else. She smiled weakly back.

"Bye."

To be Continued…


	2. Episode 2: Awareness

Escaflowne:   Mirrors 

Episode 2:  Awareness 

            Hitomi Kanzaki was peacefully asleep in her bed.  She was dreaming that she was falling, but this didn't phase her.  She dreamed often that she was falling, and that she was saved by her love…  As usual, from above, a pair of white wings unfolded, and the owner dove down after her.  She smiled, because she knew that it was Van, and that he would save her.  He always saved her.  Intense light was being shone on his face, lighting his dark hair to nearly gray, and casting a shadow over his face.  His bare arm stretched down to meet hers.  She reached up to him, her falling nearly unconscious.  He neared, their hands nearly touching, but then she was struck with fear, for the image of the dove and the train played with horrifying clarity across her eyes.  She saw again as the bird crashed and disappeared, and she saw with more detail, the fruit of her imagination…Van crashing, his wings breaking and his feathers flying.  She saw his expression; pained and agonized, as he tumbled aside and away from her into the dark.  The image came in a flash and before she knew it, she was back facing the winged man as he reached down to save her.  She was still frozen in fear as he grabbed her hand.  The difference was, that when she looked now, Van's face came into the light, his brown eyes shining, but his hair turning a new shade of burnt orange.  He had become Yosu, or had he always been Yosu?  Her falling stopped, and he took her up, Van's wings folding down around her…

            She woke up clutching her covers tightly to her chin and sweating.  "Wh-What's happening!?"  She sat up slowly, strangely dizzy.  It had been more than a dream.  Was it a vision?  But she hadn't had a vision since – since she'd left Gaea.  An icy-cold hand grabbed her heart and she received an incredible sense of foreboding.  What would a vision like that mean?  Her heart was telling her that something was wrong, but her mind was so confused.  She received another image; one of Van's throat, his eyes invisible, but his mouth unmoving.  A pale hand reached around his neck as another chin appeared.  A woman's; with young features a soft, curving lip, and long, elegant neck.  She leaned in close to him, taking Hitomi's magic pendant from his neck and pulling it taught.  He didn't move, but the chain grew tighter and tighter until it snapped off in her hand.  A fresh wave of danger overtook the girl.  Hitomi threw one hand to her own neck.  "Something's wrong!  Something's happened to Van!"  She climbed out of bed and through the dark room to the window.  Outside, the tree was dark and shadowy, the night sky was stretched out above it and the street was asleep beyond it.  There was no golden glowing youth hanging in the tree, and there was only one moon in the sky.  She stared at the clouds as if she could see Gaea hanging among the stars.  "I'm coming Van!  Hold on!"  Hitomi recalled the power of Atlantis, the power of wishes, and closed her eyes.  It was this power that had gotten her to Gaea before, and now she'd use it to get back.  "Please take me to Gaea!!!  Please take me to Van!!!  He needs me!  I wish it with all of my heart!!!"  She felt a golden glow surround her, ruffling her hair.  Her heart pounded fast as she felt herself drift off.  But then, like having the wind knocked out of her, she was thrown back into her room, and found herself staring out her window at the same tree as before.  A cold sweat ran down her back.  "What went wrong?"  Again, the vision of Van and the woman came, but briefly, this time only to see the snap of the chain.  She understood.  "The pendant!  It was the pendant that held the power of Atlantis!  That's the only reason I got to Van in the first place!"  She stared again at the sky, and felt her naked neck, her heart sinking.  "And Van has it!"  She sank down to her bed, she felt herself trembling with the sense of helplessness.  "Van has it and he's in trouble!!!"  She tried to fight her tears as she became determined.  "I've got to get to Gaea!  I've got to help Van!  There has to be some way to get there without the pendant!"

            Something triggered her dream again.  Van becoming Yosu.  Then the vision of the chain snapping.  Her mind was racing.  "I've got to hurry and do something.  But the vision seemed to say that Yosu was involved."  She stared out the window; the sky was becoming lighter over the rooftops.  "There has to be some reason why Van and Yosu are so much alike.  I don't think I'm understanding all of this dream… There has to be more to it.  Maybe its telling me that…that there is a connection between them."  She pounded her fist into her hand.  "Tomorrow after school!  I've got to find him and see how he's related to all of this!"  She nodded.  "I'll get to Van!  I'll find a way." 

            The next day, she was on the train to school again.  Instead of taking her usual seat, she waited up by the door until Jiai got on at her normal stop.  Hitomi pulled her over.  "I've got to tell you something!"

            "What is it, Hitomi!?"  Jiai cried.

            "I had a vision last night!"  She answered.

            Jiai got more interested.  "A vision!?  How do you know?"

            "I received visions before, before I left Gaea.  I would have dreams that would make me feel a certain way."  Hitomi answered.  "And this wasn't a normal dream, it made me feel that way.  My visions connect me to what's going on other places."

            "Okay, I believe you."  Jiai nodded.  "What was your vision about!?"

            "Van's in trouble!"  Hitomi reported.

            "Van?  From your dream world?"  Jiai asked.

            "It's not a dream world!"  Hitomi repeated.  "And there's something wrong.  I've got to find a way back to Gaea."

            "Go back?  But you said that when you were on Gaea, you messed things up."  Jiai recalled.

            "I know…"  Hitomi seemed discouraged slightly.  "But I think I'm the only one who can save Gaea, now."

            "Well, what are you going to do?"  Jiai asked.

            "I've got to find Yosu."  Hitomi answered.  "He was in my vision.  I think he's got a connection to what's going on."

            "Yosu?  Oh!  The guy you fainted on!"  Jiai recalled.  "But Hitomi, that was last week!  How will you know where to find him?"

            "We know where he lives, right?"  Hitomi pressured.

            "I don't remember where he lived!"  Jiai replied.  "I can barely remember what stop we got on at when we took the train home!"

            "I'm going to find him someway."  Hitomi grabbed her friend's shoulder.  "And you're going to help me!"

            "Help you!?"  Jiai cried.

            "Don't back out on me, now, Jiai, you're the only one I can trust with this!"  Hitomi said.  "If you don't believe me, then I'll have to do it myself.  But it will be a lot easier with you along."

            "But it's not right to just go around stalking someone you don't know." Jiai answered.

            "It is if it's to save an entire planet!"  Hitomi stated.

            "But no body knows this planet exists."  Jiai said.  "I'm not sure if I even believe it exists!  Plus, we've got to do what we're supposed to."

            "You're just like Millerna, stuck in your stupid rules!"  Hitomi cried.  "Well, I know Millerna, and Millerna would believe me and help me, even if she was unsure of what was going on… I think you will too."

            Jiai bit her knuckle in deep thought, her marine blue eyes quavering with her racing thoughts and emotions.  "Hitomi…I love you, I really do…but I don't know if I can do this for you.  It was fine when we ran into him on the street…but to go out and try to find him.  It's not as innocent as before."

            "Think of it as an adventure." Hitomi reassured.  "We're not trying to rob the guy, we're trying to talk to him.  All I want to do is talk to him."  She smiled at Jiai.  "Come with me?  Please?"

            Jiai swallowed hard.  "Okay, I'll do it!"

            "Thank you!"  Hitomi grinned and hugged her.  When she opened her eyes, her arms still around her friend, Hitomi received a vision of a sunset.  A young woman with golden hair tied back in a low bow was leaning off a balcony.  Her blue eyes were glossy, and tear filled.  Her cheeks were stained with the signs of crying.  Just as she put her face in her hands and began to sob, Hitomi was brought back.  She quickly withdrew and held Jiai out at arms length, the eyes on this girl the same as the ones in the image.

            "Hitomi!?  What's wrong?"

            Staring into Jiai's face made the muscles around Hitomi's face twitch with emotion.  She looked even more like Millerna now than she ever had.  She stammered out an answer to her query "I just got another vision!"

            "Another?"  Jiai asked.  "Just now!?"

            Hitomi nodded, slowly, staring unblinking at the girl.

            "Well what was it about?"

            "It was Millerna."  Hitomi answered.  "She was crying.  She looked like… like something horrible had happened."

            "She's the one who looks like me, right?"  Jiai asked. "And you got it when you were hugging me?"

            "Yeah…"  Hitomi was overcome with eeriness, as if she wasn't sure whether Jiai was really Millerna or not.  The vision of Yosu with Van's wings returned again.  Jiai watched as Hitomi twitched with her eyes glued open.

            "What's happening now?"  The curly-haired girl asked.

            Millerna was in trouble on Gaea.  Van was in trouble on Gaea.  Hitomi let her eyes focus on the girl again.  "I – I think you're connected, too, Jiai."  She squeezed Jiai's shoulders tighter.  "Its just like Yosu and Van…in order to explain what's going on, I need to talk to Yosu.  In order to find out what's wrong with Millerna, I'm going to need your help."

            "You're creeping me out, Hitomi."  Jiai said, shrugging out of Hitomi's grip.  "Don't stare at me so much."

            "Do you feel anything strange!?"  Hitomi demanded. "Do you feel sad?  Do you feel like you have a connection to someone else!?"

            "Stop yelling at me!"  Jiai cried.

            "Can you see Millerna!?  Do you know what's happened!?"  Hitomi was yelling now.  

            Jiai sprang up out of the seat, scared and angry.  "No!  I felt normal before you started acting so weird!  You're scaring me, Hitomi!"

            "But you don't understand…!"  Hitomi insisted.

            "Stoppit!"  Jiai shouted.  "Leave me alone!  Get away from me!"  She grabbed her schoolbag and took off running down the isle to the next car.  The other people seated around Hitomi were staring at her.  She felt awkward, and guilty about pressing Jiai so hard.  But at the same time she had new ideas.  That day the two of them went shopping, she ran into so many people that reminded her of her companions on Gaea.  She was confused at the time, and had dismissed it as coincidence, but now she thought that maybe there really WAS a connection between them.  Not just Yosu and Van and Jiai and Millerna, but maybe everyone else had a connection to their respective counterparts.  She had to find out.  The train pulled into her destination and she stood.  She saw Yukari walk up from further back, ready to leave through the door near Hitomi.  Her best friend pulled her over. "Hey, Yukari?"

            "Hi,  Hitomi."  Yukari answered. "What's up?"

            "Is Amano still staying at your house?"  Hitomi asked.

            "Yeah."  Yukari answered.  "But he's not at school today, he was feeling bad, so he stayed home."

            "Can I come over maybe after school and talk to him?"  Hitomi asked.

            "Sure."  Yukari said.  "You know you're welcome any time, Hitomi."

            Hitomi went through the morning thinking about all the possibilities confronting her.  Somehow her friends had developed connections to people from Gaea.  Yosu was definitely connected to Van, there was no mistaking it; Jiai was connected to Millerna; and Amano was probably connected to Allen.  Her "interview" with him later, she was sure, would only confirm it.  Who else was there?  Well, Yosu's little sister was definitely Merle…what was her name?  Cat? Neko…Koneko… that was it.  And, of course, that famous guy and Dryden.  He was the most obvious, really.  As she entered the lunchroom at the noon hour, she spied Jiai sitting all alone.  She remembered how she'd treated Jiai on the train, and felt guilty again.  She headed over

            Jiai was slowly and absentmindedly stirring her canned peaches with a fork.  Hitomi sat down across from her "Hey."

            The girl looked up, her curls bouncing.  She didn't say anything.

            Hitomi decided to get straight to the apologies.  "Look, Jiai, I'm sorry about how I acted on the train.  I've been going through a lot of changes suddenly."

            Jiai looked unsure, but finally said.  "You scared me, Hitomi.  You were out of control."

            "I know, I'm just worried, that's all."  Hitomi answered.  "Forgive me?  I didn't mean to scare you."

            Jiai put down her fork.  "Okay, I don't want to be scared of you."  She looked up.  "But all this Gaea stuff all of a sudden; you really believe in this dream world."

            "It wasn't –" But Hitomi stopped and approached it kinder.  "I spent a long time there, Jiai.  I know it wasn't a dream.  I felt pain, I felt anger, I felt love…It was a real place with real people.  People that I care a lot about.  There has to be some way I can prove it to you so that you'll believe me."  Jiai looked innocently and attentively to her.  Hitomi got an idea.  "I know, you're connected to Millerna, close your eyes and relax."

            "Hitomi…"  Jiai seemed hesitant.

            "It's just an experiment."  Hitomi assured.  "I'm trying to prove to you that Millerna is real.  Just close your eyes and take my hand."  The girl reached out and took Hitomi's hand, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  Hitomi closed her eyes, too, and put a hand over her heart where her pendant would have hung.  "Okay, now, relax your mind, and listen to what I'm going to say.  Tell me how you feel, or what you see or hear."

            "Okay."  Jiai answered.

            "Here we go…"  Hitomi relaxed and thought about what she was going to say.  What would get Millerna's attention right away?  It didn't take long.  "How do you feel, when I ask you about Allen Schezar?"

            Jiai kept her eyes closed.  Hitomi tried to see what Jiai was seeing, but couldn't.  She clutched her own uniform at her heart, wishing that she could.  Suddenly Jiai spoke.  "I feel sad…"  Hitomi could feel it too, now, a terrible sadness.  As Jiai continued to speak, Hitomi felt what her words said.  Millerna's voice continued to speak from Jiai's throat.  "I feel lonely…"

            "What did he say?"  Hitomi asked.

            "I feel…unloved…"

            Hitomi gasped.  There was a hollowness in her chest.  Millerna's voice came sobbing into her mind.  Jiai's words echoed around in their midst.  'I feel unloved…why me?  Why does no one love me?'  Hitomi realized that the sobbing she heard was real, and opened her eyes to find tears streaming down Jiai's cheeks.

            "I feel so worthless!"  Jiai heaved.  "I feel like I want to curl up and die.  No body loves me!" 

            "Jiai!"  Hitomi let go of her hand and leaned forward to shake her.  "Jiai!  It's okay."  

            Jiai opened her eyes, which now seemed more blue than green.  "My…my heart aches!"

            Hitomi got up and came around the table to sit next to her friend.  She put her arm around her.  "I know, I felt it too…But that's not you.  You are loved.  Millerna felt like that.  You were feeling Millerna's feelings.  That must be why she was crying…"

            Jiai couldn't stop her own crying.  "I saw her!  I saw her, Hitomi!  I saw her…I feel so bad!"  Hitomi hugged her and reassured her until she calmed down.  She figured that something had happened between Millerna and Allen that had caused this pain.  It must have been horrible.  She recalled that Amano had been feeling bad.  She hoped that Allen was alright, and that nothing had happened to him.  Jiai eased her head off of Hitomi's shoulder.  She wiped her eyes and turned to the girl next to her.  "I believe you, Hitomi.  No one could convince me that there wasn't a Gaea now!  I can feel Millerna in me now.  And there is something wrong.  I want to help you help her."

            "Thanks Jiai."  Hitomi said.  "So you're going to help me get to Gaea?" 

            Jiai nodded.  "What do we do first?"

            "Well, I think we need to check out Amano."  Hitomi answered.

            "Amano?  Why?  I thought you were after Yosu."

            "Yosu can wait."  Hitomi said.  "It will be a lot easier to get to Amano, I know exactly where he is.  And he's feeling sick today, so maybe his connection to Allen is taking its toll."

            "So you think everyone…everyone you thought were someone else…are connected to Gaea?"  Jiai summed up.

            Hitomi nodded and began to outline her plan.  "You see, I've been thinking.  I can't get to Gaea without the power of Atlantis.  That is, I can't get there by myself.  I think that if I can get the help of enough people who are connected, I can use their relationships to the people on Gaea to teleport there."

            "And you think that'll work?"  Jiai asked.  

            "That feeling you got… you were channeling Millerna…"  Hitomi explained.  "The only way you could do that is if a part of you went to Gaea and found it."

            "I don't understand."  Jiai said.

            "It's okay, I do."  Hitomi assured.  "Just come with me to Yukari's this afternoon and talk to Amano.  Then we can go off and find Yosu."

            "Okay, I'll meet you after class at the train station."  Jiai agreed.  

            As arranged, the girls met up with Yukari at the train station and went with her home.  Yukari lead them through her front door, dropping her school stuff by the door and kicking off her shoes.  "Mom!!!  We're home!"  She wandered down the hall toward the family bedrooms.  Hitomi and Jiai followed.  Yukari knocked on the guest room doorframe.  "Amano?  I'm back from school."

            Hitomi heard Allen's voice answer her.  "Hi, Yukari."

            "How do you feel?"

            "Better."  He said.  "I think it was just a morning thing."

            "Hitomi and Jiai came over to see how you were doing."  Yukari said into the door.

            In a second or two, Amano appeared, his chin-length light brown hair a little tousled and wearing a tee shirt and sweatpants.  "Hey.  What's up?"

            "Nothing, just wanting to see how sick you were."  Hitomi answered, then cut to the chase.  "What was this illness like?"

            "It really was nothing, I was a little dizzy and lightheaded."  He answered.  "I had a killer headache.  I was like a migraine really."

            "Did it come with any images?"  Hitomi asked.

            Amano looked confused.  "Images?"

            "Pictures or voices or anything?"  Hitomi said, hopefully.

            Amano scratched his head.  "No, I don't think so…I woke up with a really weird ringing in my ears, but that went away after about half an hour.  That's what convinced me to stay here.  I think I was having 'killer cousin' nightmares again."

            "We had Grandpa's chili last night."  Yukari recalled.  "That could have done it."   

            "That was probably it."  Amano agreed.

            "No."  Hitomi said as if she knew.  Amano looked quizzically at her, wondering why she sounded like she did. Hitomi took a deep breath.  "I might as well get straight to the point.  I'm suspicious that there is something going on.  Something extraterrestrial, and you're involved."

            "What?  You think I'm an alien or something?"  Amano asked.

            "No."  Hitomi didn't appreciate his joking.  "I don't know if you remember; but I left one night out on the school track in a beam of light and vanished."

            "I don't remember that."  Amano answered.

            "I wrote over it the first time."  Hitomi reported.  "But you were there the second time.  I didn't wake up in the nurses office the second time I came back."

            "I have no idea what you're talking about."  Amano answered.

            Hitomi became frustrated.  She stepped forward and put her hands on either side of his head.  She felt a strange power being generated by a point in the center of her chest.  "Remember the pendant?  It would swing back and forth once a second.  We counted it together by my bed.  You held that pendant in your hand.  I made a deal, that if I could reach you before the pendant swung thirteen times, I could kiss you.  As I ran, a beam of light came down from the sky.  In it was a dragon.  It descended with a young man on its back.  That was Van.  I called his name and jumped up onto the dragon's back.  We flew away together, up the column of light.  You stood below and watched until I was gone…It was surreal.  Maybe you thought it was a dream; but it was true.  It really happened.  You have to remember."

            The power she was feeling was working inside his head, unlocking memories that he'd dismissed.  Allen's blue eyes on Amano's face flashed with recollection.  "I remember that!  Hitomi!"  Hitomi took her hands away and stepped back as he looked, nearly frightened down at her.  Jiai and Yukari watched.  Amano put one hand to his head.  "That headache…and the ringing is back."

            "Maybe you should lie down."  Yukari suggested.

            "No, it's…"  Amano averted his eyes.  "What was that?  That night?"

            "That was the night I went back to Gaea."  Hitomi answered.

            "Gaea?" 

            Hitomi sighed, relieved that he was interested in learning more.  "Let me tell you about it…"  They moved into the sitting room and Hitomi began her account; telling Amano and Yukari everything she'd told Jiai before on the train.  The two of them listened; she wasn't sure if they were believed her or not, but Amano seemed to be hanging on every word.  As the tale went on, Yukari seemed more and more comprehensive and confused.  Hitomi finished by telling them about her vision and her theory of how everyone was connected.  When she was done, there was silence.

            Jiai fidgeted in her chair and Hitomi sat down in one next to her.  "Amano, you and Allen have some sort of connection.  I saw it before I even was looking for them.  I saw the similarities between you and Allen the minute I met Allen on Gaea.  And now, there's something going on on Gaea, and I need you to tap into Allen and see if you can establish the connection I need to get me back."

            "Wh- what do I have to do?"  Amano stammered.  He looked thrown by the whole thing, his frame of reality shattered.

            "Well, this worked for Jiai…" Hitomi said.  She got on her knees in front of Amano and took his hand.

            "Wait – "  Yukari bade.  Hitomi looked up.  There was something in her friend's eyes that looked concerned.  She was worried.  "This is foolishness!  Hitomi!?  You are talking like a fool, I'm scared for you!  Do you feel alright?  Maybe we should take you to a doctor; get this thing sorted out…"

            "You were there, too, Yukari."  Hitomi said.  "You saw me leave for Gaea, just like Amano did.  He believes me and you don't.  Maybe you are the one who's having the trouble."

            Yukari looked to Amano.  "This is insane!"  She pleaded. "Please don't tell me you believe this stuff!"

            "I can't help thinking that it might be a possibility."  Amano answered.  "I saw something really strange that night, and Hitomi has explained it to me.  I have to believe her.  Can you explain it better?"

            "I don't remember that happening."  Yukari answered.

            "You've shut it away, too then."  Hitomi resolved.  "Maybe it happens automatically…something in the power of Atlantis that makes you forget anything about Gaea if you've been affected by it.  Well, you can remember, too.  But I'm going to deal with Amano and Allen, now.  I don't think you have a counterpart in Gaea."  She studied Yukari.  "I never thought you reminded me of anyone I met, and there was no one who reminded me of you while I was there.  I've got to take this a little bit at a time."

            "I don't think you should do it, Amano."  Yukari warned.

            "What's to lose?"  Amano asked.  He turned to Hitomi.  "What do I have to do?"

            "Close your eyes and relax."  Hitomi instructed.  "And tell me what you see or feel or hear or anything when I say things that would cue Allen to come through."

            "I am a little scared, really…"  Amano admitted.  "I've never…" he gulped. ".._channeled_ anyone before."

            "It's okay."  Jiai said, blushing a little that she was talking to Amano.  "I connected to Millerna.  It feels strange, but its like you are becoming someone else.  When Hitomi brings you out of it…you'll be normal again.  Well, as normal as you can be knowing that you made contact with someone else."

            "This Allen isn't a ghost is he?"  Amano asked.  "I'm not going to end up possessed or anything?"

            "No, I hope not."  Hitomi replied, remembering Millerna's tears.  He didn't look reassured, so she smiled at him.  "I'll make sure you don't.  Just relax."

            "Okay."  He closed his eyes and leaned back into the couch, Hitomi still holding his hand.  Yukari watched warily, never straying her eyes from Amano, her heart aching.

            Hitomi closed her eyes and pretended again that she had her pendant around her neck.  "Alright…here goes…"  She took a deep breath.  "Allen Schezar…how would you feel if I asked you about Millerna?"

            Amano stayed quiet, but there was a look on his face like he was saddened, maybe even a little hurt.  Jiai felt a lump catch in her throat, feeling Millerna's feelings come back. She looked away quickly, trying to subdue it.  Yukari felt her eyes begin to sting.  Hitomi, however, didn't think he'd given any response, and tried something else.

            "What if I asked you about Celena…your sister…"

            Amano gasped and his face scrunched and twisted.  Yukari jumped, but stopped herself, confused as to what she was supposed to do.  Amano spoke.  "It's pain, It…why?  That's what I hear…I keep saying why."

            "Why?"  Hitomi repeated.  She got another of her images.  Allen, his golden hair dulled in the darkness of the night outside his window, was leaned against his bedroom door.  His eyes were blue, but frightened, hurt, and confused.  From the other side, she heard pounding and screaming; glass breaking, a young woman's cry for help, then malicious laughing.  Allen sank down against the door, his face in his hand.  

"Why…?"

            "Allen…"  Hitomi still had feelings for him; he was still special to her, if only as a good friend.  He was in trouble too.  She had to find out more, and help him.  Things were going so wrong on Gaea.

            "I feel like…like I was responsible for something that went really wrong."  Amano reported.  "Burdened maybe…I don't know.  I feel like I have let down someone…"

            "What happened?"  Hitomi asked.

            "I don't know…"  Amano answered.  "I don't know!  I wish I did!  I don't – I – "  Using Allen's voice, Amano sounded like Allen had jumped into the room and started to try and explain himself.  "I tried to help her!  I tried to save her!  I – I can't do anything…I don't know what went wrong…"

            "It's okay, it's not your fault."  Hitomi tried to calm him down.  "You can't do anything to help."

            "I have to!"  He became angry.  "I HAVE to!!!  It's my job to save her!  That's why I'm her older brother!  That's why I swore to protect her and keep her happy and safe - !  I have to help her somehow.  I have to be able to do something - !"

            Yukari gasped and Jiai shot her eyes over.  The brunette was staring directly into Amano's face, her lip quivering and her eyes flashing like her mind was working madly.  Her lip quivered as she opened her mouth… "Allen…"

            Hitomi's eyes sprung open.  "Yukari!?"

            Amano fell out of his trance and opened his eyes, his heart still beating fast.  "What was I saying?  What happened?"  Hitomi had her attention devoted to Yukari and didn't hear.  Yukari's blue eyes seemed to lose a white film when Amano came back to normal.  She grabbed her throat and coughed.  Amano sprang up.  "Yukari!?  What's wrong!?  Are you okay!?"  

            "I!?  I saw him…I saw Allen."  Yukari cried.

            "How?"  Hitomi demanded.  "How!?"

            "In Amano."  Yukari answered.  "He suddenly, as I was staring at him, started talking very passionately, and I got afraid.  Then I saw, his hair turn blonde, and grow long.  He looked older…it was Allen.  I could see him sitting there, then I kinda fell back.  I fell out of … me…  I got lost I guess."  She jumped into Amano's arms.  "I was so scared!"

            "It's okay, Yukari."  Amano assured.  "I'm back!  It's me, and I've got you.  We're okay now."

            Hitomi turned back to Jiai, whose eyes were watering.  The girl got up off her knees.  "We've done what we were meaning to.  I got you in touch with Allen.  Amano?  Did you sense it?"

            "Yeah."  Amano answered, holding Yukari, her head under his chin.  "Yeah, I could feel it.  And I feel it now, too.  It's bizarre."

            "I saw something."  Hitomi said.  She looked back to Jiai.  "Allen was in trouble too."

            "I think we all got that."  Jiai answered.  "So now Van, Millerna, and Allen are in trouble.  You really think you can help them?"

            "I think I need to find more people with connections."  Hitomi answered.  "There might be something really big going on.  I'll need all the information I can get."  

            "Who else do we need to tag?"  Jiai asked. "Millerna and Allen.  You still have to catch up with Yosu."

            "Yosu?"  Amano asked.  "Yosu who?"

            "Oh my gosh… was his last name!?"  Hitomi cried.  

            "That might be a little important."  Jiai pointed out.  "Good luck finding one Yosu in all of Tokyo."            

            "It began with a T didn't it?  Tamaka?  Tamara?"

            "Takara?"  Amano asked.

            "That's it!"  Hitomi cried, then shot a critical look at the young man.  "How did you know that?"  

            "He's a kid my cousin Hakai talks about.  They go to tae-kwon-do classes together downtown."  Amano answered.  "Hakai hates his guts.  I think it helps fuel his urge to burn stuff."

            "Burn stuff?"  Hitomi asked.  She was struck with another creepy feeling.  "Hakai, does he really like to…burn…stuff?"

            "Oh my gosh!" Amano cried.  "Full blown pyro!  The guy runs around with lit candles; lit matches; lit lighters; I caught him with a lit table-leg once.  I still haven't found the table he took it off of.  And I tell you what…I'm his favorite target.  He either really likes me or hates me.  My stuff is his favorite thing to burn.  I locked my room before I left, I hope he hasn't picked it yet."

            "Jiai!!!"  Hitomi cried.  "It's Dilandau!!!"

            "Who?"  Jiai asked.

            "The creepy screaming banshee pyro I told you about who was always trying to kill Van."  Hitomi answered.

            "Oh!  The one who turned into Allen's younger sister."  Jiai affirmed.

            "What!?"  Amano cried.

            "Celena was changed into Dilandau." Hitomi answered.  "Don't ask me how or why, that's just what happened."

            "You mean the little sister that I – that Allen was screaming about used to by a boy and a pyromaniac!?"  Amano cried, outraged.  "No wonder he's got problems!!!"

            "She turned back though!"  Hitomi assured. 

            "That doesn't help!"  Amano insisted.  "I've got a connection to Allen, now, and that really ticks me off!"

            "You're Allen all the way through."  Jiai sighed.  Hitomi cast her a look.  Jiai looked like she swallowed a bug.  "How'd I know that?"

            Hitomi threw her hands up to her head, confused and bombarded.  Amano gave it a thought.  "Then I guess that Suru is Celena."

            "What did you say?"  Hitomi demanded.

            "Well, Hakai is only Dil – Dil whatever, but he is also Celena.  I'm sorry, I just confused you didn't I."  Amano said, looking razzled.  

            "Go on."  Hitomi pleaded.

            "Well, on Gaea, there is one person who is really two people.   Celena is both Dil – "

            "Dilandau."  Hitomi informed.

            "Dilandau," Amano repeated, "and herself.  She is one body, but has been two different people.  If people here on Earth have developed connections to people on Gaea, it would make sense that there would be a representative of each person."  Hitomi saw the sense in this, but let him continue.  "So, my two crazy twin cousins would be the perfect representatives."

            "Can we go over and see your cousins?"  Hitomi cried.

            Amano looked wary.  "I dunno…"

            "Come on, Amano."  Hitomi pleaded.  "It's really important.  If I can get enough people to help me, I can go to Gaea and help Allen.  You've got a thing with Allen now right?"

            "Yeah, right." Amano agreed. "Okay, I'll drive you.  But I'm warning you, keep all personal possessions in the car at all times and don't stick your neck or limbs out to far once you get in that house.  My mom will be glad to see me, again, I'm sure."

            They all got up, got their shoes on, Amano got dressed, and headed to the street where Amano's car was parked.  It was an older model, with red paint chipping a little and dents clearly visible.  Still it was a cute little thing.  He got in the driver's side door and Yukari piled in the passenger side.  Hitomi and Jiai made themselves home in the back.  Jiai pulled Hitomi over to whisper in her ear.  "Thanks for involving me in this…otherwise I would NEVER have been able to ride in Amano's car."

            Hitomi giggled a little as they pulled out.  Amano talked to her over his shoulder.  "So, what is this Gaea like?  Is it like Earth?"

            "The landscapes and everything are the same, but the technology is kinda lopsided."  Hitomi answered.  "They've developed gigantic mechanical suits called Guymelefs that they use to fight with; and they have floating ships and flying vehicles.  At the same time though, most of their work and simple machinery is like what they used in Europe during the middle ages, or maybe a little past that.  The point is that they don't have big buildings and cars and things like we do, and they don't dress like we do either.  Allen for instance, had big white puffy sleeves and a long blue, uh, overcoat I guess."

            "Puffy sleeves!?"  Amano cried.

            "I saw 'em."  Yukari reported.  

            He looked over to her sharply.  "I can't believe my counterpart wears puffy sleeves."

            "Its something like a fashion statement in Asturia." Hitomi answered.

            "Fashion statement my butt."  Amano huffed.  "If I was there, I'd fix him.  Show him the light…"

            "I'll tell him your thoughts."  Hitomi said, amused by how quickly Amano had taken to Allen.  They wound the roads until Amano had gotten them to his house.  As they climbed out of the car, they heard something break just inside.

            "Ah, welcome home."  Amano said.  He headed up the walk first.  "Remember what I told you, watch your backs."

            Hitomi took a second thought and tossed her backpack back through the car window.

            They all moved up and he opened the door.  The commotion hit them full force; screaming, running, and a lot of talking at once reverberated loudly throughout the halls of his house.  Amano stepped inside.  "Mom!  I'm back!"

            "Amano!?!"  His mother sounded relieved as she ran over.  "Thank goodness!  Help!  Please!"  

            "I've brought you a couple babysitters."  Amano said.

            "What!?"  Hitomi cried. 

            "Just play along."  Amano hissed, turning back to his mother.  "Yeah, where are the little monsters?"

            "Well, Hakai is in the basement going through our storage boxes and I think Suru has penned herself up in the corner of the living room."  His mother answered.  

            Amano sighed.  "Hitomi, you and Jiai head over and take care of Suru.  Yukari, you can go too I guess.  Hakai is going to take a little work to get up the stairs."

            "Can't we just get Suru downstairs?"  Hitomi asked.

            "Oh, no."  Amano shook his head.  "You can't move her, believe me.  She's really the dangerous one.  She's got that subtle evil to her.  Hakai's evil is blatant, you can see it right on the surface."

            He wished them good luck and headed off to the basement.  Yukari lead the other two through Amano's house to the living room.  In the corner was a little girl of twelve years.  She had her slightly curly bright blonde hair at chin level and was playing with a set of paper dolls.  She had large, innocent blue eyes and talked to herself in Celena's voice as she folded the flaps of the paper clothes over the body of her doll.  "Look Little Suzy!  Look at all your pretty dresses!  They fold over here on your shoulders and over here on your hips.  But you're sad!  You have so many dresses.  How can you wear them all?"  Without blinking or changing expression, she slowly ripped the paper-doll in half by at the waist.  The girls watching halted in their approach, appalled.  Suru picked up two paper dresses off the floor, folding one onto the top half of the doll and one onto the bottom half.  "There Little Suzy!  Now you can wear twice as many dresses!"  She set the two dressed halves down in front of her.  "That makes you so happy!"

            "Uh, Suru?"  Yukari started.  

            Suru turned, suddenly, her eyes looking like Dilandau's, or Celena's, they had the same eyes after all.  "Who are you?"

            "I'm Yukari, remember?  I came over before."  Yukari answered.

            "Yes, I remember you."  Suru answered.  "Do you want to play with my dolls?"

            "No, no I don't." Yukari assured.  "No, this is Hitomi."  Yukari kneeled down and brought Hitomi down with her.  "She's a friend of your cousin Amano's."

            "Your Amano's friend?"  Suru asked Hitomi.  "I like Amano.  He's nice to me.  He plays with my brother.  But I don't think he likes me.  He tells me to stop my games before we finish.  It makes me sad."

            "I'm sorry about that."  Hitomi answered.  "Maybe he just doesn't like playing girl games."

            "I don't think that's it."  Suru answered.  She looked to the spread in front of her.  "Do you want me to introduce you to my dolls?"

            Hitomi glanced back to Jiai who shrugged, then answered Suru.  "Sure.  Who are your dolls?"

            Suru looked pleased.  "This is Meg…"  She pulled out a doll with the feet torn off.  "Her sandals didn't match, so I got rid of them for her.  She never liked them anyway.  This is Mindy."  She took out one with the head torn off and taped back on.  "Actually, it's Mindy's body, but she wasn't happy because she thought her face wasn't pretty.  So I gave her Joann's instead.  Then she was happy."  She pulled out another that was in three pieces.  "This is Joann.  She got Mindy's head and Meg's sandals."  Then came one more covered in generous amounts of tape.  "This is Christy.  Both Joann's high heels and her tennis shoes matched her outfit so I let her have both.  She was happy then…And this is Little Suzy."  She pulled Little Suzy out.  "She was the smallest, so she was the only one who could wear her clothes.  And she wanted to wear them so much, I made her happy so that she could wear two at a time."

            "That's grotesque, Suru."  Hitomi answered. "I mean It's great!!!"

            Just then, there was a clamoring downstairs.  They heard a little boy screaming bloody murder, then hurried footsteps.  Amano burst through the basement door and ran as fast as his long legs could take him into the living room, followed by a little ball of fury named Hakai.  Amano stared back warily.  Yukari cried out.  "Amano!?  What's going on!?"

            "I stole his matches!"  Amano said, flashing them at her from where they were palmed in his hand.  Hakai appeared, his ears and eyes red and his spiked hair arching dangerously.  

            "Give me those you!"  

            Amano held them up in the air.  "You'll have to get them yourself.

            "Grr!"  His nostrils flared.  "AMANO!!!!  AAARRGGG!!!"  Hakai attacked and began to claw up Amano like a cat up a tree.  The high schooler found this very uncomfortable.  

            "Yeeek!  Get off me!"

            "I hate you Amano!  I hate you!"   Hakai hissed through clenched teeth as he inched up the man.  "You will burn!  BURN!!!"  Amano tossed the matches onto the floor near where Suru and Hitomi were.  Yukari jumped back as the boy leapt like a monkey off of her boyfriend and landed on the pack of matches.  He giggled to himself as he struck one.  "Hee hee…. burning!  Burning!  Buuuurrnn!"

            "Dilandau alright."  Hitomi said.  She took a deep breath.  "Well, now's as good a time as ever."  She reached out and took each of the kids by the shoulder.  "Listen…I want to tell you a story – "  But she was interrupted.  As soon as she had a hand on each of them, she had that same glowing sensation in her chest and she heard voices.  Screaming.  They were the same voice, but different.  One was coming from Hakai, one was coming from Suru, and they were screaming in pain.  Hakai's had a touch of frustration and hatred…Dilandau.  And Suru's was etched in fear and panic…Celena.  Hitomi couldn't listen to it long; the voices were ringing in her head and making her dizzy.  She could feel the agony the two souls were in.  She took her hands from the two kids and put them over her ears.   The screaming stopped, but the ghost of it was still present, making her headache.

            "Hitomi!?  Are you okay!?"  Jiai cried.

            Amano dropped down next to her too.  "Hitomi!?  What went wrong."

            "I think I know why you and Allen are having a hard time, Amano." Hitomi answered.  "Celena's the one who's in trouble.  Both Dilandau and Celena are alive.  You hear their screaming in your sleep, Amano, that's why you woke up feeling strange.  I'm having the same problems as you.  They are so full of emotion and power…  And there are two of them!  I would think that if Dilandau no longer existed, I wouldn't be able to sense him.  Maybe Zaibach has taken him back."

            "Zaibach?  But I thought you took care of the bad guys."  Jiai said.

            Hitomi shook out her head.  "I really need to find Yosu!"

            "Hakai…"  Amano turned to his cousin.  "Do you know where that kid, Yosu Takara lives?"

            "YOSU TAKARA!?!?!?!"  Hakai cried.  "DIE!!!  I HATE YOSU TAKARA!!!!"

He jumped up off the floor and began running around screaming.  "DIE! DIE! DIE!"

            "I think he's a little more crazy than Dilandau."  Hitomi said, watching him go.  "If that's possible."

            "We could always head down to the Tae-Kwon-Do place and see if they've got his records available." Amano suggested.

            "Good idea."  Yukari nodded.

            "Thank you for letting us see your dolls."  Jiai said to Suru.  "Maybe we'll come back some time and you can show us more."

            "I would like that."  Suru answered.  "I don't have any real friends like you!"

            They took off for the car, and then for the city.  Yukari turned to Amano. "How do you know where this place is?"  She asked.

            "I had to drive him there, like, the second day they were in town or something.  He is dedicated to his martial arts.  All I can say is that I'm sure thankful they are teaching a little maniac like that ANOTHER way to kill people."

            "When does he have lessons?"  Hitomi asked.

            "Thursdays."  Amano answered.  "I get to drive him to the one this week too I'm sure.  The only downside to having a car."

            "It's only Tuesday."  Jiai stated.  "I hope its open."

            The drive to the city wasn't long, but it was longer than if they'd taken the train.  In about thirty minutes, they were headed for the shopping center again.  "This is great."  Hitomi told Jiai.  "Yosu lived around here, right?  So we won't have to go far to find his apartment."

            "Good point."  Jiai agreed.  

            The car wound to a stop at the crosswalk, and they stared at the red light.  Amano tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. "This is always such a long light.  It really ticks me off.  I mean, people can walk faster, right?  I've got places to go."

            Hitomi glanced out the window.  Parked next to them was a red convertible.  She took a double take when she saw the driver.  Wearing his Raybans and still talking on his cell-phone, Daiji Seijitsu was parked at the light right outside her window.  She first took a start, then got a brilliant idea.  He was a striking resemblance to Dryden…and she'd been meaning to catch up with what Dryden was doing.  She rolled down her window.  And unbuckled her seatbelt.  "You guys, find out the information about Yosu Takara and I'll meet you back here in a bit.  I've got something to do."

            "Hitomi!?"  Jiai cried.  "What do you think you're doing!?"

            "I'm going to go get a new recruit."  Hitomi answered.  "Trust me, just go on."  With that, she leapt out of the window and into the back seat of the convertible next door.  

            Amano nearly had a cow.  "Hitomi!?!"

            "HITOMI!!!"  Yukari cried.  She started to get out.

            Jiai saw who was driving and understood.  She called up to the two in the front seat.  "It's okay, just do as she said."

            "Are you serious!?"  Amano cried.  "She just jumped into that car with a stranger!"

            "He's no stranger."  Jiai answered.  "That's Dryden!  You remember, from her story.  He's Daiji Seijitsu, we ran into him when we were here last."

            "You're joking!"  Yukari cried.

            "Now she's in the car of a famous person!  That's even worse!"  Amano cried.  "She could be in real trouble!"  
            "Dryden wouldn't hurt her."  Jiai answered.

            "How do you know that?"  Yukari demanded. 

            Jiai stopped and put her hand to her heart.  "I don't know why… I just know."

            Amano sighed.  "Okay, if you say so, Millerna."

            Jiai looked up suddenly when he called her that, but the light had changed and they took off again, leaving Daiji's convertible behind.  Daiji had taken a second or two to start off the line, mostly because he had a teenage girl flopping about in his back seat.  He dropped the cell-phone and whirled around.  "What the heck!?"

            Hitomi clawed her way upright, then into the front seat of his convertible.  "Drive.  The light is green."

            "Hold the phone!" He cried.  "You're in my car!"

            "Yeah, and I'm telling you to drive, you're clogging traffic!"  Hitomi replied.

            "What is this a hijacking now!?"  Daiji demanded, flabbergasted.  "I'm being hijacked by a teenage girl!?"

            "No!  I'm not trying to steal your car."

            "Oh so it's a kidnapping then."  Daiji replied.  "I warn you, I don't like to hit girls, but I am skilled in kickboxing."

            "Really?"  Hitomi asked, interested.  "I never knew Dryden kick boxed."

            "WHAT!?!" Daiji cried again.  There was honking behind them as people got angry.  The light was a long one, and they didn't want to be trapped behind it again.  He glanced over his shoulder.  "Aw shoot."  Then hit the gas and they took off, just as the light was turning red.  He yanked off his glasses and got serious.  "Okay, girl, I could take you to the police if I wanted, you're invading private property and that's a federal offense.  But I want to find out your deal before I rein you in.  Are you a fan girl or something because I fail to find this funny."

            "No, I'm not a fan girl."  She answered.  "At least not of you."  He smirked.  "But I have something very important to tell you."

            "It had better be."  He said.  His green eyes were set in a look Dryden had worn while sitting around the war table listening to bad news.  His brown wavy bangs were blowing off of his face in the wind.  She paused at the uncanny resemblance before continuing.  

            "It really is important.  I need your help."  Hitomi said.  "It will be really helpful if you would listen honestly.  It may sound like a weird story but its true.  It's true and you can help in saving an entire world."

            He fidgeted in his seat and glanced back to her.  "Are you trying to pick up someone who gets their name on the news to promote something?  I'm not going to be the spokesperson for some Girl Scout troop."

            "You said that you'd be up for anything."  Hitomi recalled.  She'd overheard him in his phone conversation.

            "I said what!?"  Daiji exclaimed.  "When did I talk to you!?"

            "We met in the bookstore last week."  Hitomi answered.  "You said that you would be ready for anything.  Are you ready to hear about another planet full of people who need your help?"

            "Are you sick or something?"  Daiji demanded.  "Maybe I should be driving you to the hospital."

            "I'm not sick.  Just hear me out."  Hitomi pleaded.  "You wont regret it I promise."          

            He stared ahead at the road, his eyes still set.  "Okay, I'm listening."

            For a third time, Hitomi related the story of Gaea.  She payed particular detail to the parts concerning Dryden, so that Daiji could grasp the significance he had.  When she had finished, they'd circled the block twice.  "So, you see, I've got to get back to Gaea, and I need your help to get me there.  I've already assembled two other people, and possibly one more.  I can't make it without you."

            Daiji pulled over.  Once he'd put it in park, he turned in the seat to stare her straight on.  "You realize that you sound like you're insane, right?"

            "Yes, I realize that."  Hitomi answered. "But it is the truth.  And you are connected to Dryden, that's for certain.  If you would just let me, I could prove it to you."

            "I wouldn't normally…" he started, then his face turned intellectual, "but I have had some weird stuff going on lately that would work with what you are saying.  Now, I haven't told this to anyone, but if you are telling the truth, and me and this Dryden share something, then it would explain a lot.  About a year ago, I was doing great.  I was all over the news and I had lots of money and fans and everything.  I was famous and I didn't really do anything to earn it, you know?  I was just drinking it in, and milking it for all it had.  That is, until one day I realized that in everything, I was kinda cheating at life.  There are tons of people in this world.  Tons!  And they all work hard for what they have.  Me, I get handed everything on a silver platter.  It made me feel guilty that things weren't fair like that.  I'd never thought of it before, it was just all of a sudden I had everything I wanted, and then I didn't want it anymore.  I started selling off less obvious stuff and giving the money to charity.  I used to have three cars you know…yeah, I got rid of two of them.  Kept the convertible.  No regrets there.  I've been covering it up though.  I feel like I've set up an image that everyone thinks I am and that if I change it, I won't have the same kind of benefits.  Then I can't use those benefits to help people.  It's a circle I'm afraid to break you know?"

            "I know what you mean."  Hitomi said.  This too, was very Dryden-esc.  She looked at him.  "I'll bet you that your change of heart goes with Dryden's change of heart about being king.  He felt unworthy, and you feel guilty.  It's not all that different.  You both thought that you had more than you should."

            Daiji looked at her again.  "What was your name?"

            "Hitomi."  She answered. "Hitomi Kanzaki."

            "Well, Hitomi, your right."  He said. "I've always said I was ready for anything, and that's not an act.  I'm a curious person.  I'm always anxious to try new things."  He gave her a reassuring smile, that was mostly reassuring himself.  "I believe you."

            "You do?"  Hitomi asked, amazed that she didn't even have to tap into his mind to prove it.  "So you'll help me get back to Gaea."

            "Sounds like an adventure."  He said.  "What would I have to do."

            "I'm not sure, but I'm guessing that all we'll have to do is cooperate and make contact with Gaea.  If there is a strong enough contact, I should be able to get to Gaea."

            "Do you have enough?"  Daiji asked. 

            "We'll see."  She said.  "We were just on our way to Van's house.  Will you come with us?  Maybe if he has enough of a connection, we can do it right there."

            Daiji checked his watch. "I've got about an hour or so before I have to be anywhere."  He answered. "I'll come."

            "Great!!!"  Hitomi cried.  "You don't know what this means to me!"

            "I'm sure."  He said.

            "Now, we've got to get back to the center market, I told the others I'd meet up with them there."  Hitomi instructed.  Daiji sighed and pulled back onto the road to circle the block another time.  They re-entered the busy square and parked along the side of the street.  Daiji climbed out and let Hitomi climb over the drivers seat and onto the sidewalk.  The man locked up the car and pocketed the key.  Hitomi glanced the vehicle over.  "Nice car by the way."

            "I thought so."  Daiji answered.  "Okay, so who are these people we're going to meet?"

            "Two are my age, Yukari and Jiai, and one is a senior, Amano."  Hitomi answered.  "If they have the directions, you'll meet another boy named Yosu, and I'm seriously considering sending Amano back for Hakai and Suru."  She was talking to herself now.  "I mean, they had a very strong connection, they might be the key to this whole thing."  They stopped near the crosswalk, Daiji sliding on his sunglasses.  People were looking at him as they passed.  He seemed uncomfortable standing around.  Hitomi could sense his uneasiness and it made her uneasy.  She found herself looking earnestly up and down the street for Amano's car.  They finally pulled up at the stoplight coming the opposite direction from which they left.  The minute they'd halted, Jiai and Yukari leapt out of the car in the middle of traffic.  

            "Oh my gosh!  It's Daiji Seijitsu!!!"

            Daiji, his hands in his pockets, hung his head.  "Aw shoot."

            The girls rushed over and started fawning over him.  Yukari grabbed the crook of his arm and jumped up and down.  "I can't believe its really you!"  She looked to Jiai.  "I can't believe it's really him!  I can't believe its really you!!!!"

            "So so so, Mr. Seijitsu…"  Jiai stammered. "Hitomi…Hitomi convinced you?"

            "Yeah."  Daiji answered.  The girls swooned and jumped around more at the sound of his voice.  

            Hitomi shook her head. "Celebrities."  Then headed over to Amano, who was still in the car waiting for the light to turn.  She leaned in the passenger side window.  "Did you get the info?"

            "Yeah."  Amano answered.  "Yukari's got it written down. He lives within walking distance from here."

            "Amano!?!"  Yukari cried.  "Did you see who Hitomi got!?"

            "Yu." Amano moaned.  He looked to Hitomi. "Sometimes I think she only loves me because I'm the best she can get."

            "Amano."  Hitomi interrupted. "I want you to drive back to your house and get your cousins."

            "WHAT!?"  Amano cried.

            "Listen, I think if we can convince Yosu, we will be able to do it today.  Right here.  And I think we're probably going to need Suru and Hakai to do it."

            "No way, Hitomi."  Amano said.  "I escaped from them before, I don't want them together in my car.  I could get killed."

            "You're blowing it out of proportion."  Hitomi told him.  "Please go and get them. I wouldn't ask unless I really thought it was important."

            "But think of all the gas I'm using up – " Amano cried, putting up his last defense.

            "I'll pay you back."  Hitomi said, glancing up.  "You'd better go, the light's changed."

            "But –" Amano tried to protest, but the people behind were honking and Hitomi was back on the curbside waving at him.  He growled and took off toward home again.

            Hitomi grinned to herself. "Traffic blackmail, works every time."

            "Hitomi!?"  Jiai cried.  "Where's Amano going?"

            "I sent him on an errand.  He's coming back."  Hitomi assured.

            "My only male company and you sent him away!?"  Daiji cried.  "I'm doomed!"

            "Aw, dry up."  Hitomi said, turning to Yukari. "'You have the directions?"

            "Yeah."  Yukari said, letting go of Daiji's arm to reach into her pocket.  "It's a couple of blocks from here."

            "We'd better get going."  Hitomi answered.  "We've got an hour before Amano gets back, we have to convince him before then."

            "Okay."  Jiai agreed.  

            Yukari looked over the directions.  "Follow me, I'll find it."  They moved by the stores and back into the residential district of town.  Before they knew it they were in front of a modest apartment building.  They entered and started up the stairs.  "He's on level 23.  We've got a lot of stairs to climb."

            "I remember this place now."  Jiai told Hitomi.  Hitomi agreed that she did too.  Daiji glanced around at the shabbiness of the stairwell as they passed landing after landing with doors in the walls.  After what seemed like forever, the four of them reached the 23rd floor.

            "This is it."  Yukari said, hovering her finger over the bell.  "Let's hope he's home."  She pressed the buzzer and it rang.  They all held their breaths as they heard motion inside and footsteps approach the door.  It was Yosu Takara who answered.

            "Uh?  Can I help you?"

            Hitomi didn't see Van as strongly in him on this meeting, but was very relieved to track him down.  Van's brown eyes looked questioning at them from under his side-parted orange hair.  She cleared her throat and threw in her campaign.  "Hi, I'm Hitomi.  Remember?  You helped me and my friend Jiai out last week.  We wanted to talk to you about something."

            Yosu looked at the crowd and found Jiai.  "Oh, I remember. Well, I guess you can come in, but not for a long time.  Mom gets home in about an hour and a half.  She still doesn't know that you girls were here last week."

            "Your sister kept it a secret?"  Jiai asked, surprised.

            "For a price."  Came the girl's voice.  She was watching TV in the sitting room around the corner from the door.  Hitomi recognized this as the room she'd woken up in on her first visit.  She also recognized his sister Koneko as Merle the cat girl in voice, look, and manner.  Koneko looked up from where she was draped out with a bag of chips.  She spotted Daiji in the crowd as he took off his glasses and her amber eyes bugged out.  "DAIJI SEIJITSU!?!"

            "Oh great."  Daiji groaned, letting his shoulders sag.  The twelve-year-old sailed through the air and ended up with her arms around Daiji's neck.  

            "I can't believe you are in my house!  Oh my gosh!  I've got to call all my friends to come over!  I've got to take pictures!  I'm going to nail you to my wall!  I can't believe its really you!!!"

            "Hitomi…"  Daiji whined.  "I've got another girl on me."

            "Okay, Merle, get off the nice man."  Hitomi said, trying to remove her.  Koneko was stubborn.  Hitomi tugged and turned over her shoulder.  "Yosu!  Remove your pet!"

            "Koneko, get off him."  Yosu commanded.

            His sister let go and dropped to the floor.  "No fair!  You don't care about Daiji because you aren't a girl!  You wouldn't understand."

            "I understand.  I'm a guy."  Yosu told her.  "And guys don't like to be ambushed."

            "Thank heaven!!!"  Daiji cried. "I'm not doomed after all!"

            "Koneko," Jiai reasoned. "Would you not call all your friends?  Daiji isn't here for public display.  He's come here to talk to your brother, so you need to be polite to him."

            "Okay, whatever."  Koneko agreed.  "But can I take a picture?"

            They looked up to Daiji, who sighed. "Maybe later."

            "HOOO-RAY!!"  Koneko whooped.

            "Did you guys want something?" Yosu asked.

            "Yeah."  Hitomi sat down.  "Do you remember what I was ranting about when I was here?"

            "Of course." Yosu answered. "You thought I was someone else.  Your old boyfriend right?"

            "Yeah…" Hitomi agreed, not wanting to get into detail about her relationship with Van.  "Well, I think I've figured out why."

            "Is it more complicated than just a case of mistaken identity?"  Yosu asked.  

            "Much."  Hitomi answered.  For a fourth time, she retold the story, with Yukari, Jiai, and Daiji adding in things they remembered the strongest out of the tale.  It took her about forty-five minutes to get the whole thing out.  When she was done with the events of the day, Yosu and his little sister were staring blankly at her.  She got a bad feeling that this would be harder than she thought.  "What?"

            "Are you nuts?"  Yosu cried.  "That's the craziest thing I've ever heard."

            "It sounds cool."  Koneko said.  "And I'm in it too?"

            Hitomi nodded.

            "I don't believe it."  Yosu announced.  "How can you ask me to believe something that strange!?  It's stupid.  There's no way that could ever happen."

            "I believed it."  Daiji said, scratching the back of his head.

            "If Daiji believed it then I'll believe it."  Koneko cried.

            Daiji grinned.  "Heh, maybe having fan girls isn't as bad as I thought."  Koneko grinned.

            "We all believe her story."  Yukari said.  "Because she proved it to us."

            "I can prove it to you, too, if you are willing."  Hitomi answered.

            "How would you do that?"  Yosu demanded.

            "She has you relax and contact your counterpart in Gaea."  Jiai answered.  "When she did it to me, I could feel Millerna's emotions strongly.  That proved it to me."

            "And my boyfriend Amano is Allen, and he heard him speaking."  Yukari answered, then got realization.  "Whoa, I'd better go wait for him.  I don't think he knows how to get here."

            "Okay, Yukari, we'll see you in a little bit."  Hitomi said as her friend excused herself and headed out of the door.

            "So you're going to put me in a trance and have someone else speak through my body?"  Yosu asked.

            "Not exactly, but something like it."  Hitomi said.

            Yosu stood up.  "No way!  I'm not gonna be used as some sort of paranormal telephone.  You can forget it."

            Hitomi found this deeply discouraging.  "Well, maybe if you see someone else do it."  She looked to Koneko.  "Are you up for it?  Will you let me get you in touch with Merle?"

            She looked uneasy, but glanced up to her idol sitting off to the side and became brave.  "Sure, I'll do it!"

            "Neko!?!"  Yosu cried.

            "Come on, Big Brother, stop being such a loser."  Koneko spat.  "You gotta learn to let loose once in a while."

            Daiji grinned. "Ready for anything."

            Koneko smiled broadly.  "Lets do it.  Show me the cat girl."

            "Right."  Hitomi came over and sat down beside her.  "Now, take my hand, and relax yourself so that you'll be able to make the connection."  Koneko tried hard to be relaxed, peaking every now and then over at Daiji in his chair.  Yosu looked less than thrilled, even a little nervous as Hitomi placed her hand over her heart.  "Alright.  Now, when I say things to you, tell me what you see, hear, feel, anything.  Okay?"

            "Okay."  Koneko affirmed.

            "Right, here goes."  She went through the motions she had with the others, trying to decide what to say to get Merle's attention.  She began with the basics.  "Lord Van…"

            "_Lord Van!?!_" Hitomi paused.  Merle's voice was echoing faintly in her head.  She received the sensation of being cold, and that it was dark.  It sounded like Merle was far way.  "_Lord Van!?!_"

            "I –"  Koneko started speaking.  "I can see her!  She's got pink hair.  She's really a cat girl, she's got cat ears and a cat tail."

            "Where is she?"  Hitomi asked. 

            "She's…she's in a cell.  Like a jail or…or a dungeon."

            Another fait echo; "_Lord Van!?!"_

            "Do you know why she's there?"  Hitomi asked.

            "No."  Koneko reported.  "But…she's crying.  And calling for help I think.  I can't really hear what she's saying."

            A sob came with the next _"Lord Van!?"_

            "Neko!?  Can you really see that?"  Yosu demanded. 

            "I can see it like I was watching it from in the same room."  Koneko answered.  "It's really real, Yosu, you should try it.  It bothers me though.  Why is she in there?  I'm supposed to be connected to her…why is she in a cell?  What'd she do wrong."

            _"Lord Van!?"_  Merle sobbed. _"Let me out!!!"_

            "I don't know."  Hitomi said.  Koneko broke the connection herself when she looked up to her brother, leaving Hitomi's head empty again.

            "I believe her, Yosu."  Koneko said.  "We need to help her out.  You've got to believe it too because you're the most important part."

            "Yosu, please."  Jiai said.  "Hitomi's got to know what's wrong with Van.  If you trust her, she can go back to Gaea and help him."

            "I don't know…it's too weird."  Yosu persisted.

            "It doesn't hurt or anything, Yosu."  Koneko assured.

            "Please."  Hitomi begged.  She was on the threshold of knowing what had happened to Van.  He just had to agree to let her connect them.  Van's eyes were swimming on his face, as his mind worked.

            "I'm not sure."

            "Come on, Man."  Daiji pressured. 

            Yosu looked to him, then to Jiai and Hitomi.  The last one had such a pained look on her face as she stared hopefully up at him.  He fidgeted, then finally agreed.  "Alright, but make it short."

            "Thank you so much!"  Hitomi cried.  She moved over next to Yosu, who sat on the floor, and prepared him.  "Okay, close your eyes…"

            "I know, I heard you the first time."  Yosu said.  He gave her his hand and closed his eyes.  She began to speak.  She knew exactly what to say to get Van's attention.  If he loved her, all she would have to do is say his name. But as she prepared, Yosu got a vision. "I'm…I'm in a room."

            "In a room?"  Hitomi asked.

            "Yeah, it looks new.  But it looks old at the same time.  It smells like sawdust."

            Hitomi got suspicious.  "What are you wearing?"

            "I've got on brown pants, boots and it looks like a red shirt."

            "You're inside Van's head!"  Hitomi cried.  "Incredible.  What are you thinking?  Are you looking at anything?  Is anyone in there with you?"

            "Hold on…"  Yosu said.  "I'm, I'm sitting in a chair.  It's a wooden chair, the armrest is digging into my back.  I've got my knees up. I'm sitting sideways, that's it.  It's daytime.  Light's coming in through the windows.  I, I keep rubbing my neck.  Something's missing…Something's telling me that I used to have a necklace or something on…that's it…a pendant."

            "He lost my pendant?"  Hitomi asked.  She recalled her vision she'd had the night before of the pendant being pulled off by a young woman.  She gasped.  "Who's in the room with you?"

            "Wait!"  Yosu hushed her.  "I hear something."  The people around them were silent as they watched Yosu listen to sounds that they couldn't hear.  He finally reported.  "Someone's speaking to me…a woman…"  Hitomi held her breath.  "She…she's saying my name.  Van's name I mean.  She asked him…if he's okay.  I'm looking around. I think I can see her now."  He took a start, his eyes springing open.  "Oh my gosh!"

            Hitomi jumped up.  "What is it!?  What is it!?"

            Yosu looked frightened as he stared at her.  "It was you!!!"

            Hitomi froze too.  Everyone in the room looked at each other, asking the same questions.  Hitomi dropped his hand and put hers up to her head. "Me!?"  She remembered the vision, but she couldn't see the woman's face, only her chin and her hand.  She thought about how Van hadn't come to see her.  She'd never thought that _she_ would have a connection to Gaea!  She couldn't believe that she could be there.  "Are you sure…are you sure it was me?"

            "Maybe it was an image from when you were still there." Jiai suggested.

            Hitomi looked over, gaining hope.  Yosu answered her question. "It didn't look exactly like you, but Van thought it was you.  I think he's trouble."  Yosu answered.  "You do have to get to wherever you need to go."  

            "So you'll help us?"  Jiai asked.

            Yosu nodded, seeing all of them.  "Van needs Hitomi's help.  I'll help you send her to Gaea."

            Just then, there was screaming in the hallway and a desperate pounding on the door.  The doorbell rang five times in succession. Koneko jumped up. "What in the world!?"

            "That's Amano and Yukari with the twins."  Hitomi said. "Just in time too.  I think we're ready to go."  

            Yosu got up and answered the door, which flew back on its hinges, just shy of nailing him in the face. Amano's voice could be heard crying, "Look out!"  Hakai burst into the room, kicking and screaming.  Koneko jumped up onto the couch and balled up for defense.  The rabid young blonde grabbed a pillow and began to gnaw on it and shake it around like a dog.  Yukari and Amano appeared looking frayed.  Suru walked calmly inside and sat down on the floor, one of her paper dolls in several pieces in her hands.

            Yosu joined Yukari and Amano just inside the door looking battered.  "What was that!?"

            "That's Suru and that's Hakai."  Jiai pointed to each child respectfully.  "They are Dilandau and Celena."

            "They are also out of control."  Amano said.  "You owe me, Hitomi.  I can't wait to get them all back home."

            "Okay, okay, we'll deal with that later."  Hitomi said.  "Right now, I think the time has come for me to return to Gaea."  She stepped forward.  "With your help, I think I can do it."

            "We're ready, Hitomi."  Jiai said.  "What do we have to do?"

            "Everyone hold hands and make a circle."  Hitomi commanded.  Jiai took Hitomi's right hand, and stood beside her.  She took Suru's in her other hand as she stood quietly.  Amano reached down and took Suru's free hand, and was going to take Yukari's, until he realized that he would have to be the one to hold Hakai still.  He and his girlfriend had an iron grip on Hakai until he realized he couldn't escape and settled down.  Yukari took Daiji's hand.  Koneko excitedly took the one on his other side.  She held onto her brother and Hitomi completed the circle with Yosu's hand in hers.  "Okay."  Everyone was quiet and looked at her.  She took a deep breath.  "Everybody establish your connection with your person.  Think about what they look like.  Think their names in your minds.  Think about what you saw when we made contact with them.  Think hard and relax yourselves so that you will be able to open a way for me to get to Van.  And above all, while you are thinking of this, wish that you will find the way to Gaea and that I will be able to get through."  Everyone closed their eyes.  "Alright.  Let's hope this works."  She closed her eyes.  "Please!  Power of Atlantis!!!  Take me to Gaea!"  From the center of her chest, where her Atlantican necklace would have hung, there was a glow.  The glow grew brighter and surrounded her body.  It spread around the circle as everyone thought about their people.  Hitomi could see Van in her head.  She could feel his touch and hear his voice.  She searched with her heart and wished with her mind that they would be reunited.  She felt the glow around her swell and fill her.  The world around her became white, and she felt herself be lifted off the ground.  She felt the hands of Jiai and Yosu in hers.  She knew that it was working.  In moments, she was gone from Earth again.

To be Continued…


	3. Episode 3: Unexpectedness

Escaflowne:   Mirrors 

Episode 3:  Unexpectedness 

            Hitomi tingled all over.  She felt a cool breeze on her skin, but she was afraid to open her eyes.  Had it worked?  Was she back on Gaea?  Around her, the air smelled sweet and clean with a pinch of saltwater.  She could hear waves and gulls not far off, and she felt the sun on her skin.  Taking a deep breath, she slowly peered out onto a world she thought she's never see again.  To her great astonishment, she found around her seven other people.  Jiai, Suru, Yukari, Hakai, Amano, Daiji, Koneko, and Yosu had been teleported with her and stood in a circle, hands clasped, on the grassy hill.  She nearly fainted with shock, and dropped Jiai and Yosu's hands.  She hadn't noticed that she was still holding them.

            "I think it worked!"  Jiai said, happily.  "I can't feel Hitomi's hand anymore."

            "That was WICKED!!!"  Hakai cried.  "Had my eyes open the whole trip!  Excellent!  Better than TV."

            Yukari opened her eyes, and her jaw dropped.  "Oh my gosh…"

            Yosu was in the same state.  "No way."

            "It worked alright, Jiai."  Yukari said. "Open your eyes."  She swallowed hard.  "Something went…uh…wrong I think."

            Jiai pulled her big teal eyes open and froze in shock and amazement.

            Suru looked up at the sky where the Mystic Moon was just visible through the blue.  "Its so beautiful."

            "Whoa."  Amano let Hakai loose with his first realization and the boy began running around and stomping down the tall grass.  "Good, dry fuel!  Where'd my matches go!?"

            Daiji seemed to be in awe "Awesome…"

            "This is Gaea!?"  Jiai said finally.  "Wow!  I knew it'd be pretty!"

            Koneko glanced around and spotted Hitomi.  "Hitomi!  You made it back and we came too!"  She bounced over, her pigtails bobbing.  "Isn't it great!  I wanted to come with you.  It sounded like it would be fun!"

            "Fun!?"  Yosu cried. "FUN!?!  We're stuck here!  I thought you said that it wouldn't be dangerous!"

            "I – I had no idea that you guys would come along!"  Hitomi defended.

            "So much for my appointment."  Daiji sighed, not seeming to mind, but absolutely captivated by his surroundings.

            Suru sat down and began picking wildflowers.  She studied them with her childlike blue eyes.  Hakai ripped huge clumps of grass out of the hillside.  "This is gonna be great!  I can do whatever I want and Mom'll never get me in trouble!"

            "Hold it, weirdo!"  Koneko commanded.  "You're not going to destroy this place!  This place is pretty, and we're gonna help keep it that way!"

            "That's right!"  Jiai realized. "This is an excellent opportunity.  Now we can help Hitomi fix this place."

            "You mean stay?"  Yukari asked. "But what about our lives back on Earth?"

            "You don't have to stay."  Hitomi answered.  "We could all hold hands and you can go back again."

            "Back!?!"  Hakai cried, outraged.  "No way!  Not when I've got so much fun to have!"

            "I like it here."  Suru said simply, picking the petals off of her wildflower.

            "And I do want to help."  Jiai stated.

            Koneko jumped into the air.  "Me too!"

            "I want to meet Allen."  Amano stepped forward.  "I want to help you help him."

            "Oh!  I want to help Millerna too!"  Jiai added.  "Maybe I can help her be happy again."

            "We gotta get that cat girl out of jail!"  Koneko recalled.

            "I'm ready for anything."  Daiji offered.

            "I'm staying if you are."  Yukari said, taking Amano's arm.

            He smiled down at her, then scanned the crowd.  "So we're all in agreement?"

            "What do you hope to accomplish anyway?"  Yosu cried.  "We're going to get killed!  I've got a responsibility to Neko and to my family!  I can't afford to gallivant around here like some superhero.  We've got to look at this realistically!"

            "Come on, Yosu!"  Koneko cried.  "We're not going to be clashing swords or anything.  We're going to help save Von." She looked to Hitomi. "Right?"

            Hitomi took heart and nodded.  It was like she'd known the seven of them her whole life and it was greatly encouraging to have them believe in her and want to help her.  Yosu looked like he was struggling.  He wanted to help Von, he had a connection with Von.  And he had a connection with Hitomi, too, something told him that he needed to look out for her as well as Koneko.  He tightened one fist in frustration before deciding.  "Okay, your right.  We need to be here and help.  Anyway, you said that you wrote over your previous history, right?"  He asked Hitomi.

            "Yes, I returned to Earth immediately before I'd left."  Hitomi answered.  "Like no time had passed."

            "Then we won't have to worry about our lives on Earth."  Yosu resolved.  "And as long as we watch our backs, we can do our part here and get back like nothing had happened.  Agreed."

            "Agreed!"  The others nodded.

            Suddenly there was a voice that called to them over the crest of the hill.  "Hey!  Who are you and what are you doing here!?"  Hitomi turned and found a troop of Asturian soldiers approaching over the grass.  "Answer!"

            Hitomi rushed forward.  "I am Hitomi Kanzaki!  I've come back from the Mystic Moon!  My company and I request an audience with your royal highness, Princess Millerna Aston!"

            "Th-The Mystic Moon!?!"  The speaker cried.  His fellow soldiers broke their rigid formation and began to murmur among themselves earnestly.  Jiai skipped up next to Hitomi and stared quizzically at the stammering troops.

            "Who are they?"

            "Asturian Men."  Hitomi answered.  "You can smell the sea from here.  We must be close to the capital city!" 

            "And Millerna?"  Jiai asked.

            Hitomi nodded her affirmation and the soldiers regained their composure.  The captain stepped forward. "It is Asturian law that all visitors from the Mystic Moon must be brought to the palace to face trial before the Queen."  He signaled for his men to surround them.  "Please come peaceably with us to the castle."

            "We're going on foot!?  How far is it!?" Hitomi cried.

            "Just over the hill, miss."  The solider taking up post nearest her answered.  The part was gathered together and soldiers surrounded them at the corners and along the sides.  Everyone got very excited.

            Yukari tugged Suru up from the grass. "Come on.  We're going to see a Queen!"

            "A Queen?"  Suru asked, dropping her petal-less flower to the grass.

            "A Princess."  Yukari clarified.

            "Wow."  Suru said, meekly. "A real princess."

            "Someone grab that boy!"  The captain called, pointed to Hakai, who had a huge pile of plucked grass heaped up and was trying to strike a match to it.  His anticipating sneer turned into a frustrated scowl.  One of the soldiers strode over just as the head of the match finally caught.  He grinned in evil glee and dropped it onto the pile.  The living grass caught, but burned slowly with much smoke.  The soldier picked him up around the waist and he cried out in rage, kicking and screaming.

            "Ahh!  Dangit!  Stupid Jerks!  I just got it started!!!  ARRGG!!!"  As he was being carried off, two more soldiers stomped out his meager bonfire.  He joined the pack being held under the soldier's arm.  The man was trying hard to subdue his thrashing and remain stately at the same time.  Daiji glanced around hoping to exchange glances with someone.  He finally ended up doing it with Jiai in front as they began their march over the hill.  It only took a few steps to the edge of the bluff for them to realize how close they actually were to the city.  Below them were the colorful building and the grand royal castle of the Kingdom of Asturia.  The sea was lazily rolling toward the shore where some townsfolk were doing chores or playing in the surf.  The streets were paved in cobblestone and stocked with a variety of people from seamen to merchant beasts; all present to take advantage of the oceanfront trade routes.  The buildings were painted pastel tints of bright colors with the occasional terraced addition or striped decoration.  Towering above all else was the beautifully sculpted palace of King Aston.  There was a moment as the Earthers stared in wonder before they were escorted down the precipice and onto the small strip of grassland beyond the river.  Hitomi glanced around, the familiarity of her surroundings beating strongly in her heart.  She could see in the distance, the windmill where Von had stored Escaflowne during the Zaibach war.  It brought her mind back to why she had returned.  She realized that she couldn't let herself forget that Von was in immediate danger, and that she had to hurry and get to Fanelia as soon as she could.  Her steadfast dedication was rather short-lived, however, for when they crossed the bridge into town, she and the others were overcome with the sights and sounds of common life Asturia.  The soldiers relaxed a little as they saw their prisoners childishly enchanted by the town.  Even Hakai had stopped struggling to look around.  He watched people's waists move by and the counters of the different booths.  At one point he grabbed a fruit off one of the counters when the teller wasn't looking and was rewarded by a knock in the head from the soldier.  

Jiai rushed forward and grabbed Hitomi's shoulders.  "This place is Amazing!"  It's like I've wandered into a storybook!"

            "I told you I liked it here!"  Hitomi assured her.

            "Look at the clothes!"  Yukari mused, grabbing Amano's arm. "I love it!  The sleeves and the collars!  We've got to do some MAJOR shopping!"

            Amano rolled his eyes.  "I don't think my credit card is good in a place like this."

            "But you'd look so good in those sleeves."  Yukari persisted.

            Hitomi spoke back to her, something very important coming to mind.  "Yukari, promise me that while we're here, you won't fall in love with Allen, okay?"

            "I've got Amano."  Yukari answered.

            "That's the point."  Hitomi continued.  "If you dump Amano for Allen, it will be yet another thing I've ruined by being here.  So do me and you a favor and don't give Allen a second look, okay?"

            "Hitomi, this is silly."  Yukari laughed.

            "Promise me!"  Hitomi insisted.

            "Okay!  I promise!"  Yukari seemed astounded at the gravity Hitomi had placed on the promise.  "Don't worry about it."

            "Whew, good."  Hitomi sighed.

            Yosu's eyes bugged as two men with dog's heads marched past.  "Strange people here."

            "Who?"  Hitomi asked.

            "Don't tell me you haven't noticed!"  Yosu replied. "I think I've seen every one of the Egyptian gods wander by!"

            "Beast men."  Hitomi answered. "You never really get used to it, but you kinda learn to accept it."  
            "Yeah, whatever."  Yosu replied, watching a man with a bird's head and feathers walk past.

            Daiji watched as a couple young Asturian women walked by in corsets gossiping.  He tugged down his glasses to get a better look.  "Very nice."  He pocketed the shades in his khaki slacks.  "There isn't anyone I shouldn't fall for is there Hitomi?"

            "What?"  Hitomi asked, then understood.  "No, I don't guess so.  There aren't any girls with Allen's love life that I know about."

            "Good deal."  Daiji grinned.  He fixed the collar on his read shirt.  "So who all will we be meeting here?"

            "You mean in Asturia?"  Hitomi asked.  "Well, we're on out way to see Millerna, but Allen lives here too so we'll probably get to see him.  Oh, and of course his little sister Celena."

            "Von and the Cat Girl aren't here?"  Koneko asked.

            "No."  Hitomi answered.  "They're in Fanelia.  We're going to try and get Millerna's help to rescue them."

            "Oh, okay."  Koneko understood.  She saw another cat person go by. "It must be cool to be a cat!  I can't wait to meet her!  We must have a lot in common if we're connected."

            "I'm still trying to figure the whole connection thing out…"  Hitomi admitted.

            It wasn't long before they had reached the gates of the palace.  Hitomi had entered here many times before, but there was something different about it this time.  There seemed to be a shadow cast on the normally cheery facade.  Even the personnel seemed gloomy.  They were lead up the stairs and into the main hall.  Before them, the great wooden doors of the audience chamber creaked back on their hinges to lead them into a long, tall ceilinged room.  The room was humongous, the center ceiling nearly 100 feet off the ground held up by towering alabaster columns.  The wings on either side of the main chamber had ceilings about 20 feet up, and were lined in rows of arched windows, letting natural light in.  Light poured in from above as well.  At the end of the hall were five thrones, with a long purple carpet stretching from them between the lines of columns.  Soldiers kept their vigils in front of each column along the walk.  Hitomi and her party were herded inside, the newcomers drinking in the atmosphere of wealth.  The girl, however, had her green eyes focused on the throne.  

            When they got close enough, she could see a young woman with wavy golden hair, a headband-like tiara and sapphire blue eyes.  She was slouched sideways in the chair, her long pink gown creased sloppily.  She sat in the Queen's throne; beautifully ornate and velvet lined; all the other thrones were empty.  Her had her chin in her hand and traced circles on the opposite armrest of her throne with the tip of her gloved finger.  She seemed to be the center of the sadness surrounding the building and even now, her eyes seemed to glisten, craving tears.

            The soldiers stopped and the captain prepared to report when Hitomi leapt forward and interrupted him.  "Millerna!!!"

            The young woman in the chair looked up, startled out of her misery, her back straightened and she darted her eyes around until she finally saw the one who spoke.  "Hitomi!?!"

            "Millerna!"  The girl form the Mystic Moon rushed forward.  The guard was shocked, and delayed in reacting until she was already past.

            "W-Wait!  Come back here!"

            "Millerna jumped form the throne and ran down the steps to meet Hitomi, her sadness erased at the sight of her lost friend.  "I can't believe it!"  The tow of them met and embraced, their hearts swelling.  Hitomi hadn't realized until then how much she'd missed Millerna, and for a brief instance, the blonde was rid of any signs of former woes.  The royal took Hitomi by the shoulders, tears of happiness now spotting her cheeks.  "How can it by you!?  How did you get here!?"

            "My friends helped me."  Hitomi answered, glancing back to the other seven waiting.  She turned to Millerna again.  "I wouldn't have come except that I received a vision telling me that there was trouble.  And I missed all of you down here so much!"

"I'm so glad you came!"  Millerna cried. "You don't know how much I've needed you these past months!  It helps the pain in my heart just knowing that you've come back!"  She took Hitomi's hands.  "I have so much to tell you!  So much to ask you about."

            "Not as much as me, I promise."  Hitomi answered.

            Millerna turned to the soldiers.  "AT ease, these people are not dangerous!  In fact…Chamberlain!"  A man who was apparently a royal helper rushed up.  Millerna issued him orders.  "Chamberlain, hurry and organized the cooks and maids!  WE are to have a magnificent feast tonight in honor of Hitomi's return and her visiting friends!  Invite all the knights and nobility in the city!"

            "Yes, ma'am!"  The chamberlain bowed and hurried off.  The soldiers keeping guard around the foreigners backed off and stood aside, ready should Millerna need their help.

            Hitomi smiled and lead Millerna down the stairs to where the others were assembled.  "I've got to introduce you to my new friends."  She stopped in front of them.  "First I should tell you how I got here.  Briefly, I'll get into detail later, but each of these people contributed to my arrival.  I couldn't come on my own without my pendant, but I found each of these guys to remind me of one of you here on Gaea.  It ends up that they all have a connection to one of you." She looked to Jiai, and waved the curly-haired girl forward.  "This is Jiai.  She was connected to you."

            Millerna and Jiai looked at each other.  It was nearly paranormal, as if they were seeing both sides of a mirror at the same time.  Time seemed to slow down as they studied each other.  Their eyes had the same shape, size and placing, as did their other features.  It felt like they were sisters, lost from each other at birth.  Jiai broke the silence as she spoke with Millerna's voice.  "It's, it's a pleasure to finally meet you."  Jiai smiled, seeming a little uneasy.  "I feel like I already know you."

            "It's a pleasure meeting you."  Millerna answered. "I feel…the same."

            They entered into another pause where they studied each other; this Hitomi broke by cutting in between them and continuing the introductions.  "That there is Koneko, she's connected to Merle.  That is Yosu, he's connected to Von."  Koneko waved enthusiastically, but Yosu seemed melancholy and simply nodded, very Von-ishly.  Hitomi gestured to the next in line.  "That is Yukari.  I don't really know how she connects….she just came along because Amano was coming.  Amano's right there, he's…"

            "Allen."  Millerna stated, staring at him.

            Hitomi paused.  "So you recognize him."

            Amano looked up to her properly, knowing that he was addressing royalty, but when their eyes met and he saw how she was staring at him, he became wary and felt uneasy.  Yukari saw it and took his arm.  He looked down at her, relieved.  Millerna's eyes glistened again when she saw.

            Hitomi ignored the exchange and continued. "That's Suru, she's connected to Celena, and that's Daiji, he's connected to Dryden."  Millerna shot he eyes up to him quickly and he smiled a big Dryden smile at her.  Hitomi was unhindered.  "And the last one is Hakai."  She looked around for the spiky-blond menace who had conveniently gone missing.  "Where did he go?"

            The other six of them immediately began looking around for him.  It was Koneko who spotted and pointed.  "There he is!"

            The point was directed over Millerna and Hitomi's heads to where Hakai had his matches out and was trying to set one of the polished wooden thrones on fire. 

            Amano took a start, removed his arm from Yukari's grasp, and hurried up the stairs.  "Hey!"  He brushed past Millerna, steadying her shoulders and giving a brief 'excuse me'.  She blushed brightly, but he passed without a thought to dash to where the boy was grinning maliciously.  "Hakai!!"  He leaned down and grabbed the hand with the matchbox.  Forcing his cousin to his feet, Amano pulled him up by his wrist and frowned into his face.  "Stop that!  That's not how you act in front of a Queen!"

            "Like I care!"  Hakai responded.  He dropped his lit match and it hit on the carpet, starting up a little patch of fire.  Hakai felt victorious.  "HAH!  Hahahahahahahaha!"  Amano glanced down, then stepped forward and ground it out with the bottom of his shoe.  Hakai watched the pitiful little trail of smoke snake up, his face stretching in shock.  He then began kicking and screaming.  "AAAARRRRGGGG!!!!!  I hate you Amano Susumu!!!  I HATE YOU!  I HATE YOU!  I HATE YOU!!!"

            Hitomi smirked.  "Needless to say he takes after Dilandau."

            Millerna looked numb to Hakai, as if she had been lost inside her own head for the whole ordeal.  She snapped out of it and became very hostess-ly as she addressed them with her royal regularity and practiced smile.  "It's very nice to meet all of you!  And welcome to Gaea.  You have a feast planned in your honor, but for now, you must be weary and in wonder of this new place.  Please go and rest in my guest chambers.  The guards will show you the way.  Wash up and change.  I'll have some Asturian clothes sent up to your rooms so that you may look the part at dinner.  While you are here, the castle is open to you. Please explore and feel at home in its halls.  I will see you all again soon."

            A couple of the more learned ones bowed.  Daiji said 'thanks' and Suru didn't move at all.  One of the guards stepped out of formation and announced.  "I'll show you to your rooms.  Please follow me."  They shrugged and followed, Amano dragging Hakai back down the steps by his wrist and rejoining Yukari, who took his free arm.  Jiai, however, stayed behind.  She stepped up next to Hitomi as she began to catch up with the goings on in her absence.

            "So you're queen now!  Wow!"

            "Yeah," Millerna answered, "when I married Dryden, I got the title, but I was called 'princess' until my father passed away about two weeks ago."

            "Oh my gosh!  I'm sorry!" Hitomi cried. "That must be awful!"

            "It's alright."  Millerna answered, looking glum.  "I've cried my tears.  He wouldn't be happy if he knew I still grieved.  She took a deep breath and sighed.  "Before he passed, however, he married my sister Eries off to the new king of Zaibach; to establish peace and assure the fledgling government good leadership in the future.  That left me in charge of Asturia."  She shrugged.  "It's a great honor, but I'm not sure if I'm up to it on my own.  I'm glad there's not anything going on that requires strong leadership.  I'm still trying to fit the part."

            "I guess now you know how Dryden felt."  Hitomi observed.

            Millerna cast her eyes back down.  "Dryden…"

            Jiai saw this as an ideal time to burst in and ask the question that was getting ready to burst inside of her.  In face, the question exploded from her mouth much louder than she'd have liked in her earnest to get it out.  "Your Majesty!?"

            Millerna jumped at the sound. "Yes?"

            Jiai calmed down.  "I'm sorry, I've just been meaning to ask you…This morning, Hitomi helped me establish a connection with you.  I felt your emotions, and you were so heart-breakingly sad…it made me cry."  Her blue green eyes teared up again.  "Please tell me why you are so sad.  I want to help you, and make you happy again."  She paused and put one hand to her heart.  Make us both happy again."

            Millerna was moved to tears by this sentiment and looked to the two girls in front of her.  "Please come with me back to my chambers…I've got something I need to confide in you…"

                        *                           Escaflowne                              *  
  


The party of Yukari, Amano, Daiji, Koneko, Yosu, and the twins was being escorted up to the guest tower.    Koneko was having the time of her life poking her head into doorways along the way.  "This place is soooo cool!  And that Queen said we could go anyplace we wanted while we were here!  I'm going to explore every inch of this place!"

"Just keep your nose out of places it doesn't belong."  Yosu told her.

            "But that's how you find out interesting stuff!"  Koneko replied.  "I might be able to discover some scandalous secret while I'm poking around."

"It's not right." Yukari told her.  "We're guests.  We really shouldn't do anything to make our hostess mad."

            "Since when did you become my mother?"  Koneko asked.  "It'll be her fault if I find something out!  She told me that I could go anywhere."

            "yeah, what did you think of our Queen?"  Daiji asked Yukari and Amano, who was dragging a fuming Hakai.

            "She was nice."  Amano said, indifferently.  "She seemed well rehearsed."

            "I thought she seemed sad."  Yukari answered.

            "I thought she was great."  Daiji announced.  "She seemed like a good person, and she's ruling the country all by herself, she must be smart enough.  And on top of that, she's beautiful.  She was great!"

            "Don't tell me you've got a crush on her now."  Amano sighed.

            Daiji put his hands in his pockets.  "Maybe a little bit.  You don't really meet someone like her every day."

            "I've met a lot of people who are sad and trying to mask their feelings with a smile and a proclamation."  Yukari replied.  "Just look around you when your downtown.  You'll see a ton."

            Daiji frowned.  "That's not what I meant."  
            "Are you attracted to Jiai?"  Amano asked.  "She was the one with the connection to Millerna."

            "Yeah, maybe she's got that special something that you mean."  Yukari suggested.

            "I haven't really paid her much attention."  Daiji admitted.  "I only met her this afternoon."

            "You only met Millerna a second ago."  Amano reminded him.

            "Okay, okay, maybe it's just a crush."  Daiji admitted.  "I didn't come here to look for a girlfriend, although it would be nice if I left with one, I came here to help Hitomi save her boyfriend and meet up with this Dryden that I'm supposed to be so much like."

            "What was wrong with Dryden?"  Amano asked.

            "I don't know.  Is something supposed to be wrong with him?"  Daiji replied.

            "Didn't Hitomi connect you to him?"  Yukari inquired.

            Daiji shook his head.  "She never did.  I was convinced without a practical demonstration."

            "You've got more imagination than me."  Amano said.

            Yosu "hmm" ed from a few paces ahead.

            "I can't see how you could believe such a story like this one so easily."  Yukari insisted.

            "Well, I didn't rush in like some blind fool."  Daiji defended with a smile.  "IT was a case of Hitomi using my 'connection' to Dryden to explain some changes going on in me.  It ends up that the same stuff was going on with him at the exact same time.  That convinced me of my connection because it explained what I was going through to a very fine detail.  Stuff Hitomi could never have known on her own.  I hadn't told anyone."

            "Well, are you going to tell us?"  Koneko asked, returning from another peek in an open door.  

            "No."  He said, Jovially.

            Koneko crossed her arms and pouted.  "Well, your no fun."  Then she put on a triumphant face.  "I came to free a girl who has achieved my ultimate dream!  Be a cat!  That's why I'm here!"

            "I'm not here by choice."  Yosu answered.  "I'm looking after Neko, and Hitomi too.  I'm making sure that nothing goes wrong and they don't get hurt."

            "You're not concerned with Von?"  Yukari asked.

            Yosu paused.  "I am I guess…I forgot about him, those around me are much more important."

            "I'm primarily concerned with Allen."  Amano said.  "I feel compelled to find out what's plaguing him.  I mean, his problem wasn't like Millerna's.  Jiai's got her heart set on cheering Millerna up, but Allen's problem is both physical and psychological.  He is having trouble dealing with something he feels responsible for."

            "And I'm here because Amano's here."  Yukari finalized with a grin.

            Daiji rolled his eyes. "Bah."

            Presently, they arrived at the guest wing in the northwest tower of the castle. There was a wide flight of gently curving carpeted stairs that Hakai had the pleasure of being dragged up.  Their guide stopped on a landing in front of a stone archway.  "This leads to the second floor chamber hallway.  These shall be your rooms."  He announced.  "Please make yourselves at home. Food and clothing are being sent up.  I shall ring you this evening when the feast begins."  He marched back down the stairs.

            Yukari called "Thank you!"

            Daiji saluted.  "Thanks Jeebs!" And they all headed into their hall of chambers.  The archway led to a hall that ended in a set of double glass doors and a balcony.  There were five doors lining either side.  The first one claimed was by Yukari, who got the door one away from the balcony on the left side.  

"This one'll be mine."  She said.  "And I want Hitomi to have the one next to me.  Don't forget Jiai needs one too."

            "We wont."  Amano assured.

            Koneko ran down to the room closest to the balcony on the opposite side of the hall.  "I like this one!"

            Yosu took the room next to hers.  "Don't get any ideas on that balcony, Neko, I know how you like to jump around on things."

            "I'm not stupid, Yosu, I'm not gonna throw myself over the side or anything."

            Suru walked calmly to the room in the middle of the last three openings on Koneko's side.  There was left one door in between her and Yosu that would fit Hakai nicely.  Amano had a lopsided grin slide across his face and dragged his baggage to the entrance.  Hakai had turned into the picture of displeasure on during the trip, and now was yanked up from the ground by the same wrist he'd been held by the whole trip.  He put no effort into standing and just let Amano struggle by his own strength to keep the twelve-year-old elevated.  His older cousin leaned down into his face as he opened up the door.  "Now, don't do anything destructive!  I would hate to have to punish you when we've got a royal feast to attend."

            "You would not."  Hakai replied.  "You probably ENJOY making me miserable!  You and your stupid justice!  Where do you get off telling me what to do!?  I HATE YOU!!!!"

            Amano moved to fling the boy inside when he noticed that the box of matches were still clutched tightly in the captured hand.  Seizing the opportunity, Amano pried it lose from his numb fingers and pocketed it.  This was much to Hakai's outrage and dissaproval.  "There! That'll take care of it."

            Hakai's jaw was stuck flapping open.  "N-No FAIR!!!  That's Mine!  Give it back!"

            "You wont get it back unless you're good and don't destroy anything."  Amano reported.

            Hakai launched into a rage of fury.  "I HATE YOU AMANO SURUMU!!!  I HATE YOU!  I HATE YOU!  I HATE YOU!!!!"  Amano flung him through the door and slammed it behind him, muffling the screams.  Feeling very pleased with himself, he moved in next to Yukari and shut the door behind himself.  Daiji scratched his head, shrugged, and took the door closest to the archway on the left side, leaving two spots between he and Yukari for Hitomi and Jiai.

            As soon as all were shut away, Koneko's head popped out of her door.  "All clear."  She tiptoed out of her room and pulled the door closed behind her.  Chuckling softly, she started down the hall, but paused in front of Suru's door.  'Hmm…' she thought, 'Suru's a girl my age.  Maybe she'll want to come spying too!  I mean, it'll be an escape from her crazy brother after all.  Some girl time.'  Deciding to go for it, she knocked on the door.  There was no answer.  Koneko put a hand to her chin and studied the barrier thoughtfully.  She tried the knob and it was unlocked.  The door swung in and Koneko found Suru sitting in a chair in the middle of the room with the three pieces of the paper doll she'd brought in her hands.  She was muttering to herself.  Koneko ventured in.  "Su?"

            Suru gasped and turned.

            Koneko smiled broadly.  "Ah!  I got your attention.  I'm going out to get in trouble!  Wanna come?"

            "Ah, Molly Dolly, look," Suru said, holding the head of the paper doll up so that she could "see" Koneko just inside the door.  "A friend has come to play."

            "Uh…"  Koneko sweatdropped.

            "Do you want to play dolls with me?"  Suru asked. "There is enough of Molly that we all could play."

            "uh, no."  Koneko answered. "I've kinda gone beyond dolls.  I'm into adventuring!  Come on!  You can adventure too!"  She rushed forward and grabbed Suru's arm.

            Suru looked frightened. "But – I don't want to leave my corner."

            "Don't be such a baby, Su!  Learn to get some fun out of life!"  Koneko said, she pulled Suru to her feet.

            "Fun?  We can have fun in this castle?  But it's so…big…and strange."

            "That's the fun part!  Koneko cried.  "New stuff to see!  New people to pester!"

            "But… I don't – "  the  protest was cut short as Suru was dragged out of the room by her big light blue sweater sleeve.

            "Come on, Su!  Let's live it up!"

            "K-Koneko!!!"

                                    *                        Escaflowne                       *

            Millerna lead Hitomi and Jiai into her personal chamber and shut the door behind them.  She had a drawing room, a bedroom and an ocean-side balcony.  Jiai looked around.  "This is beautiful, your highness."

            "Please, sit down."  Millerna bade.  "And let's not be formal.  I want to talk to you as a friend.  Millerna is fine."

            "Alright, Millerna."  Jiai said, as she and Hitomi took seats on the couch.  Millerna sat in a high-backed upholstered chair facing them.  Jiai turned her blue-green eyes attentively to the Queen. "Alright, I'm ready to listen."

            Millerna seemed hesitant now that it was time to talk.  She fiddled with her hands in her lap.  Hitomi prodded her a little.  "It's okay, Millerna, it's me.  You can trust us, I promise.  And we really want to help you.  Please tell us what's wrong."

            Millerna sighed.  "Okay."  She began her tale, the sunlight shining in her moistened eyes.  "I suppose I should start after you left.  Peace was sweet for a while.  My father worked hard to try and help the Zaibachian people get back on their feet.  He helped them by building up a new government, and they placed in power one of the descendants from the king who was displaced when Dornkirk took over.  Things were going well, politically, but this new government was fragile, so he married Eries to the king, Sohn in order to support it.  With Eries's wisdom, the country wouldn't fall, and since she was an Aston, it gained us another ally.  What wasn't so obvious to my father was that by sending Eries away, he stripped from me my confidant and comfort.  I know what Father loved me, but he wasn't the kind of man you ask for advice.  At least not about gentile matters.  Eries was all that I had.  Also, after she left, it was clear to the whole country that mine was the back Asturia would fall on.  There have been mixed feelings about me since the war.  And Dryden.  There are people who think I drove him off.  There are other people who blame me for the deaths involved in the Zaibach conflict…"

            "It wasn't your fault Millerna."  Hitomi assured her.  "IT was war.  You had no control."

            "I know."  She said.  "Its just…I am troubled by the displeasure among my people.  Then there is the other side of the spectrum; people who think I could have won the war early on.  That I have the potential to be the greatest ruler Asturia has ever known.  I don't think I can stand up to that kind of aspiration, especially because it is that half of the people who blame Dryden for the whole thing."  She sighed.  "Things got so complicated after he left.  Most people have scorned him, calling him a coward and a weakling and dashing his character to pieces."

            "That's wrong!"  Hitomi cried.

            "I know!"  Millerna agreed, seeming to take the offense to Dryden personally.  "I hate it!  I know the real Dryden, and he is not a coward or a weakling.  He is nothing of what they say he is!  He was just unprepared for the job.  How many rulers take charge during war?  I crushed him."  She took a deep breath.  "I've really started to feel for Dryden over these past weeks.  I've started to realize what he went through.  And he really didn't' have my support through the whole thing.  I must have been extra hard knowing my heard belonged to somebody else…"  She got choked up at the mere thought of Allen and eased her emotional rant back down to a simple telling.  "And so, time continued on, and many months passed.  My father got sick.  I took care of him at first, but then we had to call in the doctors and nurses and attendants.  I sat worried in the throne room as the noise of his care taking could be heard all over the castle.  Before he passed on, he gave me his blessing and laid the responsibility of the crown on my head.  That night I cried.  I spent the entire night in tears, not only because the loss of my father, but because now I was alone in this castle.  I didn't have my sister to talk to, my father to turn to, and the servants didn't want to be any more than servants to me.  I sat alone on that throne day after day pining.  I would wish longingly for Allen…"  She paused, the memories causing her voice and lip to tremble.  

"My-my relationship with Allen over all of this time had moved slowly…  He came to visit less and less because he had to look after his sister, who was suffering from the traumatic stress as a result of the fate alteration procedures implemented on her.  She requires his care nearly constantly.  Most of his visits were cut short by the news that she was having another episode and needed his attention.  Some of the visits, she would come too, which would disappoint the romantic spirit inside me.  He loves her very much, which is to be expected, since he is her older brother, but I felt like he was less concerned about me.  Of course, I would just dismiss it and say that Allen truly loved me, and that when Celena was well, he would come back and visit all of the time.  But he frequented less and less and stayed away completely the month before my father's death.  A week after it happened, just last weekend, he showed up to pay his respects to my father and see how I was doing…" she started crying again quietly.  "He brought me flowers.  It was a beautiful time.  There wasn't any mention of Celena or what he'd been doing.  It was all about me, and helping me feel better.  He held me close, and I cried in his arms.  He stayed the night.  We stayed up late talking and reminiscing and more crying on my part.  He tucked me in bed like my mother used to, kissed me on the forehead and held my hand until I went to sleep.  I felt better because he was there, and he loved me.  The next morning we had breakfast on the terrace in the sun and took a walk in the gardens.  I knew that he would stay forever, and that we would get married and rule the kingdom together, and that I would never be alone, or burdened again.  It was completely calming.  As long as I had Allen, I would never have to be concerned again.

She caught her breath trembling again, and Hitomi and Jiai sensed that that wasn't the ending of the story.  Millerna continued tentatively.  "That morning I caught him in the portrait room…"  She choked back a sob.  "He was staring at the portrait of Marlene with tears in his eyes.  I was disheartened, but figured that he had loved her before she died, and that he was probably still grieving as I was grieving.  I decided that I should return the love he showed me by helping him the same way he'd helped me the night before.  I held him close and I told him how much I loved him and that it would be okay as long as we had each other.  But it wasn't working.  Instead of feeling better, he became stiff and elusive.  He was completely different from the night before, and told me with severity what was wrong."  She put her face in her hands, tears coming with great force and seeping through the fingers of her gloves.  "He told me…that he didn't love me!  That he loved me because I reminded him of my sister!  He then said that he couldn't go on using me like he was, and that he didn't want to be troubled by how he was leading me on.  Then he left.  I – "  She began yelling through her sobbing.  "I was broken!  I couldn't take it.  I'd thought that I was safe!  That I was secure!  I thought that I was loved and free from all the pain and worries and nightmares I had been having before he came.  Now the weight fell back on my shattered, broken, bleeding heart like the weight of a thousand countries.  I felt defenseless and unprepared and abandoned!  I cried on the balcony until nightfall, when I moved inside and cried in my bed."  Her shoulders shook and her tears came strong, her voice loud and stricken with the pain she was feeling.  "How could he leave me alone!?!  Why!?  Was I impossible to love!?  Was I mean to be alone!?  Why does no one love me!?  Why am I forced to live this way!?  I can't do it!  I can't lead this country by myself!  I cant!  I cant!"

Hitomi got up and put her arms around her.  Jiai put her hand on Millerna's knee.  Millerna leaned into Hitomi's embrace, and the girl whispered comforting words to him.  "It's okay, Millerna, I'm here for you.  I love you.  You're not alone anymore."

            "That's right."  Jiai assured, tears in her own eyes.  "You don't have to bear this burden by yourself anymore."

            They sat that way for a long time, everyone choking back tears and feeling the sorrow that Millerna carried with her.  She whispered thanks to them through her sobs, and received reassurance, knowing that she had friends again.

                                    *                           Escaflowne                              *

            Down in the Kitchens, the cooks and servers were hard at work preparing a grand feast at short notice.  "What does she take me for!?"  The head cook cried.  "A Fairy Godmother!?  It is impossible to prepare so much in so small a time!"

            "The pheasant is cooking well sir!"  One of the attendants called.  "There are twenty going steadily now!"

            "Good Good!"  The cook cried.  "Is someone working on the salad!?"

            "Being done sir!"  The salad server called.  "How many individual place settings?!"

            "All the knights and nobles and their wives and children that can get here within an afternoon including our guests? Prepare roundabouts 150 and remain alert to make more if more show up."

            "Yes sir!"

            "How's the soup!?"

            "Soup's well underway sir!"  Said a man leaning over a washtub-sized cauldron.

            "Dessert!?  How about Dessert!?"

            "I am mixing the pudding now, sir!"  The dessert man cried.

            "Good Everyone!"  He stated.  "Pick up the pace!  Tonight shall be our finest hour!!!"

            One man walked up to him with two trays stacked with food.  "The rations for the Lunar guests is ready to be brought up, sir."  

            "Go hurry!  We need hands!  Return quickly!!!"

            The server nodded with a "yessir" and backed out of the swinging kitchen doors, his hands full of trays.  Two mischievous little girls were watching him as he headed up a staircase, headed for the northeast tower.  Koneko lead the way, as they snuck around the corner.  The hustle and bustle could be heard through the door.  Suru followed fearfully.

            "This looks like a good place to find some juicy stuff."  Koneko said.  "C'mon, Su."

            "Koneko!"  Suru objected.  "I don't like it!  There are too many people!"

            "It's just people, Su!"  Koneko assured her.  "Plus, they won't even know we're there.  We're just looking for info."

            "I don't like lots of people!  I want to go back upstairs and play with my dolls by myself!!!  I don't like it down here!"

            "We're just gonna peek in."  Koneko insisted, then, without further consultation, she made her way stealthily into the kitchen.  Not knowing what else to do, and equally as petrified of being lost as she was of going in, Suru followed.  In the chaotic state of the kitchen, the two girls were able to sneak in and hide under one of the preparation tables unnoticed.  Koneko listened carefully as the cook ranted like an overstuffed French cuisenaire, and his workers scurried about answering his every demand.  Koneko began to crawl her way along, listening to what was being said.  Suru's eyes darted about as legs moved by in a hurry.  She jumped as something plopped to the ground.  Looking closer, she found it interesting and headed to the edge of the table.  After several minutes, Koneko had determined that there was nothing out of the ordinary going on.  She sat back, crossed her arms and pouted.  "There's nothing good happening!  This is boring."  She noticed that Suru was missing.  "Su?"  The girl wasn't far off; she was near the fallen object getting ready to poke at it.  Koneko joined her shortly.  "Hey!  Whatcha got!?"

            "It's juicy."  Suru said.

            Koneko crawled over and stared at the pile of peach colored, grimy flesh soaking in its own juice in a puddle on the floor.  She took that extra step and touched it, yanking her hand back quickly so that none of the workers would see it.  She looked critically to Suru.  "Its skin!"

            "Skin!?!"  Suru cried. "What is it doing off it's body!?"

            "We may have stumbled upon a MURDER!!!"  Koneko whispered.

            "Oh no!"  Suru threw one hand over her mouth.  "If there is a murder, they won't want us finding out!"

            "We have to solve this case!"  Koneko stated.  "The Queen needs to know if there is a murder afoot!  C'mon!  Let's look for clues!"  The girl started crawling again.  Suru glanced to the skin, then followed on Koneko's heels.  They stopped in front of a man's legs and eavesdropped on what he was saying.

            "The next twenty pheasant are ready to be put to the spit!"       

            "Do you hear that!?"  Koneko wrasped.  "It's a mass murder operation!  Twenty more victims!"

            "Twenty?"  Suru asked, not understanding.  "That's a lot of skin."

            "Right."  Koneko answered before becoming confused as the actual statement registered.  "What!?"

            But Suru had moved on to the next idea.  She had spotted up the wall, the oven where twenty birds were cooking on the rotisserie.  "Look!"

            Koneko turned her attention. "Oh!  Those chickens must be the victims!"

            "They probably don't like it up there."  Suru said.  "They want us to set them free."

            Koneko looked at her.  "They're dead.  What do you mean 'they want us to set them free'?"

            "They don't like being on those sticks."  Suru said.  "We should get them down."

            "And what makes you say that?"  Koneko asked.  "You're not pulling a Sixth Sense thing on me are you?"

            "Would you like being on a stick?"  Suru asked.  "I wouldn't, so they mustn't either.  I think we should set them free."

            Koneko cocked an eyebrow.  "Okay, I'll play along.  A rescue mission is one I haven't tried yet."  She snapped into the role.  "Okay, in order to save these chickens, we've got to act fast.  We've got to seize our opportunity.  I don't think we can save them all, so when I say the word, we jump up, grab as many as we can and make tracks to the door."

            "Alright."  Suru agreed.

            The two of them lay in wait until the cook helper moved over with a pile of raw pheasant on a tray.  Koneko caught sight of them and leapt to her feet.  "Now Su!!!"

            "Aaaahhhh!!!!"  The assistant screamed as the two girls flew at him.  He fell backward into the oven, knocking two of the four spits off their posts and dousing the flames with his seat.  Koneko and Suru rushed to the plate of poultry and grabbed two birds each, one for each hand.  

            Suru held hers up, juice dripping.  "Ew, its slimy!"

            "No time!"  Koneko cried.  "Get to the door!"  She ran out, pheasant juice flying about the kitchen.  Cooks jumped out of the way as they raced down the length of the table.  "FREEDOM!!!!"

            The dessert man threw himself over the huge bowl of pudding, shielding it from E-coli splatter and becoming soiled with it himself.  The salad man jumped up on the table, turning over the salad bowl and sending a shower of chopped lettuce and vegetables raining down.  The soup chef had two great pot lids out shielding his station.  He freaked out when the girls ran past and frantically tried to protect the vats.  The head Cook was beyond outrage, his face turning red, then purple in anger.  Meanwhile the hot coals had lit the pheasant cook's pants on fire and he began leaping around the kitchen whooping like a howler monkey.  He ran into the pudding cook, knocking him headfirst into the batch.  He emerged a banana-flavored pudding monster.  The poor man in flames jumped into the dishwashing sink and put out his butt.  He sighed as smoke billowed up.

            Koneko bounded towards the door.  "Come on!  We gotta get upstairs!  We can set them free outside!"

            "Come on, little chickens!"  Suru said to her baggage. 

            The head cook finally reacted past coming to a boil and began yelling.  "AFTER THEM!!!  AFTER THEM!!!  Get those girls!!!"

            All those who weren't in food took off toward the door just as Suru and Koneko had busted out.  Unfortunately, the lead guy slipped on the pile of dropped pheasant skin and fell over backward, causing most of the pack to trip over him.  In the end, only three men survived to take up pursuit.  The cook kept yelling "GET THEM!  GET THEM!" as the three left the kitchen.  The soup man began picking floating lettuce out of his vats.

            The 12-year-old girls raced up the stairs, the three cooks, juice splattered and looking tousled, right in their tails.    As they ran, one of the slimy pheasants slipped out of Suru's hand and flopped onto the stone steps.  "I dropped one!"

            "Leave it!"  Koneko cried.

            "But - !"  Suru objected, but continued to run, leaving the hostage behind.  The man in the lead saw it on the steps.

            "Hey!  I got one!"  He bent down to pick it up and tripped the guy behind him who ended up smeared on the steps.  The third stopped and gaped.

            The second pealed himself off and looked to the only one left standing.  "Go!  They're getting away!"  The last cook nodded and resumed pursuit.  The guy on top whapped his hurdle in the head.  "Idiot."

            The girls reached the top of the stairs and were now on the main level.  They glanced quick, deciding which way to go.  "Do we go outside?  I can see the backyard from here."  Suru said.  "We need to set them free."

            "Nah, they'll be expecting us to do that."  Koneko said.  "Up another level!"  They headed around a corner and up another set of stairs.  The guy heard their voices and raced after t hem.  Koneko glanced over her shoulder.  "Oh no!  He's still on us!"

            The two who had been tripped up on the stairs surfaced and ran out of the stairwell and toward the terrace where Millerna was walking Hitomi and Jiai to the northeast wing.  The two of them rushed over and bowed hastily.  "Your majesty!?!"

            "Yes?  What is the matter?"  Millerna asked.

            "You majesty, have you seen two children run by here?"  The one who had obviously taken charge after dubbing the other 'idiot' on the stairs, said with urgency.

            "Children?"  Hitomi asked, becoming suspicious.

            "Yes, two girls, they raided the kitchen."

            The other man held up the raw pheasant as a witness.

            "Two girls?"  Millerna cried.

            "Man, I could have sworn it'd be Hakai."  Hitomi shook her head.

            "Please, your highness!  They've ruined your feast!  Please tell us which way they went!"

            "But we didn't see them."  Jiai told him.

            "You didn't?"  They cried. "Then which way could they have gone!?"

            Directly one story up, Koneko and Suru had arrived at a window overlooking the terrace.  "He is right behind us!"  Koneko panted.

            "But we still have to get back downstairs and set these chickens free!" Suru reminded her.

            Koneko decided that the joke could go one step further.  "Hey, they're chickens, we could just toss them out the window and they should fly."

            But Suru was being sincere.  "They have no feathers.  They might hurt themselves."

            "They have no heads either."  Koneko recalled.  "Think that might affect it!?"

            "Well…"  Suru had no answer for that.

            Koneko took up her two birds.  "C'mon, wings are wings.  Plus, I'm getting tired and we need to get rid of these fast!"

            "Okay."  Suru submitted.  "I guess setting them free could involve flying."

            "Let's do it!"  Koneko took up her pheasants and flung them out the window.  "G'bye birds!"

            "Bye bye, Little Chickens."  Suru said, dropping hers carefully.  "Be free!"  With the hostages taken care of, the girls whipped their hands on their shirts and took off to find a place to hide.  Their hunter arrived panting at the top of the stairs and saw them disappear  around the corner.

            "Hey!  You kids come back!  Bring back those pheasant!!!"

            But the pheasants were closer to being discovered than he knew.  Needless to say, they didn't fly far, and below, the queen and her friends were still speaking with the cooking assistants.

            "I wish we could help."  Millerna said.

            "We will."  Hitomi volunteered, looking at Jiai.

            "Yeah!"  Jiai agreed.  "We'll help you get your meal back."  Just then, one of the raw birds fell into her hands.  It was wet and fleshy and she squealed as she caught it, but stared at it in astonishment.  The other four stared too until a second pheasant fell into Millerna's hands.

            The cook scratched his head.  "Huh…"

            Jiai grinned.  "Pheasants from Heaven."

            Hitomi held up her head and smiled proudly.  "I told you we'd get them back for you!"  But her pride was smashed as Suru's pheasant, dropped so lovingly, fell and splatted Hitomi on the head.  Millerna muffled laughter.  The cook's eyes bugged and Hitomi began fuming.

            Jiai smiled with humor at it. "Oh gross."

            "Did I mention that there is a bathtub in your room?"  Millerna giggled.

            The man with the pre-captured pheasant counted.  "Three birds…all are accounted for."

            "Uh…excuse me your highness…"  The first man took the pheasants fro the girls, removing Hitomi's from her hair himself.  He shoveled them into the arms of his associate.  "Take these down and bathe them well.  I still have to find those girls."

            "Yessir!"  The other cook said, and scurried off, his arms laden with poultry.  The last man remaining bowed and rushed off to join his fellow in finding Koneko and Suru.

            The three teens left on the terrace took a pause.   It was Millerna who spoke first.  "Well…I suppose we should be expecting a lot of that now that you from the Mystic Moon have showed up.  I expect dinner to be quite an adventure."

            "I can't wait."  Jiai grinned, sarcastically.  "But I feel so dirty now!  I have raw meat juice all over my hands."

            "You're complaining!?!"  Hitomi cried.  "I got hit in the HEAD!!!"

            "Cheer up."  Millerna encouraged.  "You would have to change anyway.  Why not bathe first?"

            "I need to now."  Jiai said.  "So what do our new clothes look like?"

            "Hitomi has worn this type of dress before."  Millerna answered. "It is sleeveless with a long pleated dress and the traditional Asturian formal collar."

            "And do the guys get to wear puffy sleeves?"  Hitomi asked. 

            "Yes." Millerna replied.

            "Oh, Yukari is going to be thrilled."  Jiai mused.  "This is going to be funny."

            "Amano won't be so bad…I've seen Allen before.  
  Hitomi reported.  "I'm waiting to see Yosu in the sleeves."

            "Because he looks like Von?"  Jiai asked.

            Hitomi blushed.

            Millerna looked thoughtful.  "I wonder how Von is doing, we haven't heard from him in a while."

            Hitomi was alerted to the possibility of learning about Von and reminded of the trouble he was in.  "You haven't?  Maybe this has something to do with his problem!  When did you hear last from him?"

            "A little more than a month ago."  Millerna answered.  "He wrote to tell us that he was nearly done rebuilding Fanelia.  He hasn't been the same since you left, Hitomi.  I'm sure he misses you very much."

            "A month…" Jiai thought.  "That's about how long it's been since you saw him, Hitomi!  Do you think it's related?"

            Hitomi put her hand on he chin.  "I don't know."    

                        *                           Escaflowne                              *

            Koneko and Suru rounded a corner and jumped a short flight of steps.  The cook was right behind.  They skidded to a stop when they saw the cook from below appear at the end of the hall.  Suru cried.  "Koneko!?  What are we going to do!?"

            Koneko spotted a door just to their left.  "Hurry!  In here!"  The two of them shoved open the door and rushed inside.  They found themselves in a small library, probably for keeping family records.  Uninterested in the books, the girls found a desk and hid themselves under it.  The held their breaths, waiting for the cooks to come in looking for them.  

            Instead of the cooks, two other gentlemen came in from a door on the other side of the room.  Conveniently, a table hid the girls and the two men were unaware of their presence.  One was balding and gray haired.  The other looked to be in his thirties. The forty year old closed their door quietly; glancing about to make sure that no one had followed them.  The elderly gentlemen waited impatiently.  "Are you sure this is a safe place."

            "The room is secured."  The other assured.  "No one will hear us."

            Koneko put a finger to her lips to keep Suru quiet.

            The older gentleman seemed to relax a little.  "Alright.  Now what is the news?"

            "The master has a new plan."  The younger man said.

            "A plan?  What kind of plan?"

            "The strangers arrival has opened up new doors for his manipulation."  He told the elder.  

            Suru whispered.  "Do you think they mean us?"

            "Hsh!"

            "Manipulation!?"  Said the other.  "What has he in mind?"

            "I'm not sure.  The master never speaks of his plans to anyone but the most trusted."  He answered.  "But the visitors are trying to get to Fanelia.  We can't let that happen."

            "Fanelia is the cornerstone."  The older man pressured.  "Do you think they know about his intentions!?"

            "I don't think so."  The one by the door said, coming into the center of the room.  "But they have that girl with them.  The one from before, who had the power of Atlantis.  She is probably going to try to interfere with fate again."

            "Its like a merry-go-round."  The other said. "She has come and the whole endeavor is starting over again."

            "That's why we have to end it now."  He took a hold of the older man's shoulders.  "The strangers from the Mystic Moon CANNOT get to Fanelia!"

            Just then, the cooks burst into the front door.  The two men jumped and flashed defensive glances at them.  The cooks were equally as startled to see them there.  They bowed quickly.  "E-Excuse us!  Did either of you gentlemen see two little girls run in here?"

            "Little girls!?"  The older man cried in outrage.

            "Haman!"  The younger man grasped his shoulders firmly and looked intently into his eyes.  Haman calmed down.  The thirty-year old gained a peacefully professional composure.  "No, gentlemen, we haven't seen any little girls running through here."

            The cooks exchanged confused glances.  "We-we are sorry, sirs!  Sorry to have bothered you."  They bowed out and ran in different directions, still trying to find the two girls.  The younger stranger let Haman go.

            "We should go.  Remember what I told you."

            "I will take care of it."  Haman assured.  "Give the master my assurances."

            "I will."  With that, the man vanished.  Haman moved around the table and the desk and left through the other door.  Koneko and Suru were left alone in the room.

            Koneko crawled out from under the table.  Suru looked scared. "What was that?"

            "I think we just got the spy info we were looking for."  Koneko reported.  "Those guys didn't want to be heard by anyone."

            "We should go back."  Suru fretted.  "We shouldn't have come!  I should have stayed in my room with my dolls."

            "Its okay, Su."  Koneko assured, helping her out from under the desk.  "They don't know that we were here.  We'll tell the Queen about it when we get a chance."  She glanced around.  "I think we should go back to our rooms, though.  Its best if we don't look suspicious.  So we should get away from here."

            "I'd like that."  Suru admitted.

            They checked the hall outside the door and took off down the hall as fast as they could toward the guest wing.

                                    *                           Escaflowne                              *

            There came a knock at the door and a young man of 21 got up to answer.  He had been sitting in a chair, deep in thought.  The interruption was unwelcome, and he flipped aside his long blond hair as he took the handle and swung the door in.  He was surprised to find a messenger form the palace standing there.

            "Message for Sir Allen Crusade Schezar."  

            "I am Allen Schezar."  The blond answered, coming out to stand in the late afternoon sunlight.

            The messenger reached into the sack he was carrying at his side and pulled out an envelope with the palace seal.  "An invitation, sir."  Allen took it and puzzled over it.  The man bowed quickly and left for his carriage to take him to the next Asturian noble.  "Good day sir."

            "Uh…"  Allen was snapped back into awareness to mutter "good day", then returned inside with the envelope.  The lights were out and the curtains drawn, filling the whole place with shadow and the glow of the sun through thick red fabric.  He broke the gloominess by turning up a lamp by his chair only enough to be able to read the letter.  "This isn't Millerna's seal.  It mustn't be a personal invitation." He broke it and took out the paper, dropping the envelope on the floor.  "Dear sir or madam, You are cordially invited to a feast tonight at the royal palace of Asturia…"  He thought a second.  'Tonight!?  This is sudden.  It's not like Millerna to throw a party on such short notice.  I wonder if it says why…' He read on and found that it did.  "This feast is in celebration of the return of our friend from the Mystic Moon, Hitomi Kanzaki and the visit of her Lunar Comrades."  Allen sprang up.  "HITOMI!?!"  He caught himself and shot a glance to the fifteen-year-old girl sleeping in the chair in the corner.  "Hitomi's come back?  For what reason?"  He gazed at the innocent face of his little sister.  "We've got to go tonight, now.  I just hope that it won't be disastrous."

            Celena snoozed on.

To Be Continued….

Notes:

Haman : magnificent, the name of the vizier (i.e., the prime minister) of the Persian king Ahasuerus.  He was hung from the gallows build for Ester's father in the book of Ester.

Sohn:  "Son" in German.  Named so because he is the last son of the former monarchy

Pheasant is a type of prairie fowl.  


	4. Episode 4: Eagerness

Escaflowne:   Mirrors 

Episode 4:  Eagerness

            Hitomi stood in front of the body-length mirror in her guest room at Millerna's palace.  She was wearing an exact copy of the dress she'd received the first time she came to visit Asturia.  It had a pink top with a white leaf-like Asturian collar and a white pleated dress.  She spun in front of the mirror and sighed at her reflection.   Her short, light-brown hair hadn't changed in that time, but her green eyes were saddened.  Standing there reminded her of her previous adventure.  It was the first time she'd been to Asturia without Van.  She laughed as she remembered the look on his face when she'd stepped out wearing this outfit.  She hadn't realized that she loved him then.  She reminded herself that she had to get off to Fanelia as soon as possible.  There was a knock at the door and Yukari's voice, which was light like Jiai's and Millerna's, called to her.  "What are you doing in there!?!  Let's go!"      Hitomi straightened the pleats of her dress and fixed up her hair.  First thing was first, she's go to Fanelia after dinner…she and her party could afford a little fun.  She left her bedroom and came out into the hall.  The other four girls, Yukari, Jiai, Koneko, and Suru were waiting there.  Each had on the same dress in a different color.  Yukari stepped forward in her light orange and took Hitomi's hand.  "I'm so excited!"  Her big brown eyes were nearly glowing with anticipation.  "We're having dinner in a ROYAL PALACE!!!  We're guests of a QUEEN!!"

            "Who would have thought that something like this would happen in real life!"  Koneko mused in her light blue.

            "Yes, Hitomi."  Jiai, in her pale aqua, agreed.  "Coming here with you by accident was the best thing to happen to us!"

            "What would we be doing on Earth?"  Yukari asked.  "Homework?"

            "I'm glad you're all enjoying yourselves."  Hitomi said.  "I'm still concerned about you, though, I don't know how involved you all are going to have to get by the end."

            "Don't worry."  Koneko boasted.  "We can take care of ourselves!  Right Su!?"  She looked over to the 12-year-old standing quietly by the wall, the top of her dress lavender colored.

            Yukari looked concerned.  "Suru?  You okay?"

            "I feel bad."  She announced.  "I want to stay here."

            "How do you fell bad?"  Yukari asked.  "Bad like you're sick?"  

            Suru shrugged.

            Yukari knelt down to her.  "You are going to have to tell me more if you want me to help you."

            "You didn't eat any of that chicken juice did you!?"  Koneko cried.  "That'll do it every time.  Suru shook her head and Koneko guessed again.  "Or is it because of what we heard in the library?"

            Suru shifted weight against the wall, looking guilty.  Hitomi was more interested in the library.  "What did you hear?"

            "Shh!"  Koneko scolded, her eyes darting down the hall either way.  "The walls have ears!   Spies could be listening!   We've got to tell the Queen something important where we know no one will hear us."  She perked up.  "We uncovered something really juicy!"

            "Yeah, like three raw pheasant!"  Hitomi rebounded.  "I still have to tell you off for that!  You got me in the head!  If this dinner wasn't so important, I'd ground you from it!"

            "Oh please!"  Koneko said, brushing her off.  "Yosu's gonna yell at me enough!  I've got a big brother, what do I need a babysitter around for?"

            "Speaking of that brother of yours," Yukari said, impatiently.  "Where are those guys?  This is the first time the boys have taken longer to get ready than the girls!"

            "Knock on the doors."  Jiai suggested.

            Yukari went straight for Amano's room.  "Amano!  Come on out!  What's taking you so long!?!"

            "I'm embarrassed!"  Amano called through the door.

            "Oh dry up!  It can't be that bad!"  Yukari insisted.  "Come out!  We need to get going!"

            "Alright!  But don't laugh at me, it's not my fault they're making me wear this."  In a second, the door opened and Amano exited wearing typical Asturian dinner wear.  The outfit had a sleeveless green over jacket, clasped in three bars down the front and parting to make somewhat of a skirt at knee level from the tails.  It was lined in a white edge, and the pants underneath were white.  The bottoms of the pants were tucked into a pair of simple brown boots.  Finally and most prominently, there was a white shirt with a simple pointed collar, an orange scarf tie, and sleeves that puffed at the shoulders.  Koneko, Hitomi, and Jiai stifled laughter.

            Amano turned to head back inside.  "That's it.  I'm not going."

            "No! No!"  Yukari grabbed his arm.  "I think you look great!  I knew you'd be good in this country's fashions!"  She fluffed his shoulder.  "I actually think the sleeves make you look handsome."

            "Really?"  Amano asked.

            Yukari hugged his arm.  "MmmmHmm."

            He sighed and hung his head.  "Okay, as long as you like it."

            "There is no doubt that you and Allen are connected."  Hitomi announced.  "In that, you look just like him."

            "Really?  He's wearing this getup, too?"  Amano asked.

            "Every day of his life."  Was the reply.

            There was commotion at the other end of the hall as Daiji came out dressed in the same thing, only colored wine red instead of green.  He posed sarcastically.  "Tah dah!"

            Jiai blushed a little.  "If only I had a camera, I'd be able to sell the pictures for so much online."

            "Har har."  Daiji said, his hands on his hips.  "I feel like I need a saber and a feathered hat."

            "Then you'd be dressed for a wedding."  Hitomi answered.

            Daiji quirked one brown eyebrow as he stared at her over the rims of his sunglasses.  "Say what?"

            "Dryden wore a feathered hat to his wedding."  Hitomi answered.

            He shook his head and whistled.  "Boy I'm glad I don't live here."

            Koneko went and knocked on the door of her brother's room.  "Yosu!  Come out!  I want to see you!"

            "NO!!!"

            "Oh come on!  You can't look any stupider than you already do!"  Koneko badgered.  "Get out here!"

            The door opened and out came Yosu in a darker blue, looking positively disgusted.  "I hope this is worth it."

            "Everyone else is wearing this."  Jiai reported.  "You'll feel awkward when you're the only guy down there who doesn't have big sleeves on."

            "I'll bet against that."  Yosu replied.  Hitomi was blushing furiously.  The awkward moment was interrupted by Hakai, who burst out of his room with his overcoat unbuttoned and the purple scarf untied.  

            "Who is making me wear this!?!  What is this!?  What kinda queer do you think I am!?"

            Yosu rolled his eyes.  "That makes me feel better."

            Yukari leveled her finger at the blonde.  "You're wearing it no matter what it makes you look like."

            "I'm surprised you got it on that far with all the fuss you're making."  Amano said.

            "I'm not wearing it!"  Hakai raved, trying to pull the mustard-yellow over the puffy white sleeves.  Yukari tried to stop him and he lashed out. "Leave me alone!  There's no way I'm going down there!"

            "I'll hold him."  Amano volunteered.  He grabbed Hakai by the arms and Yukari began to button up the coat.  He struggled vainly and before he knew it, his purple scarf was being tied.

            "GRRRRR!!!  I HATE YOU ALL!!!"

            "Millerna's right."  Jiai said to Hitomi.  "Dinner is going to be an adventure."

            A butler arrived at the top of the stairs dressed in a formal waistcoat with a palace seal on the breast.  He bowed before them and announced in a stuffy tone.  "The guests begin to arrive at present.  Shall I accompany you to the reception hall?"

            "Oh yes."  Hitomi answered.  "We're ready."

            The man bowed again.  "Follow me."

            Hitomi headed down the curving, carpeted stairs after the man.  Koneko came after her, dragging her brother by the arm.  "This is going to be great, Yosu!  Just like a fairytale ball!"  She took his arm at the elbow. "Come on, you can be my prince!"

            He smiled, forgetting about his appearance, and nodded.  "Alright, Neko, I'll be your prince."

            "This is so cool!"  Koneko mused.

            Amano shoved Hakai ahead of him and Suru went down as well.  She was silent but very dainty as she moved down the steps.  Hakai was put off, but went down anyway.  Yukari grinned.  "They're all paired up."  She looked at the sets of two.  "They even match.  Koneko and Yosu are both in blue.  Suru is wearing purple like Hakai's scarf."  She looked tot eh two of them.  "We match too.  I'm wearing orange and you have an orange scarf."

            He offered her his arm. "Then we might as well be prince and princess too."

            She gladly took it and followed the others. "This is perfect.  Daiji and Jiai were left awkwardly at the top.  Jiai looked down at her aqua dress, glancing sideways to Daiji's green tie.  She didn't want to make a move with such a famous guy.  He adjusted the neck scarf, cleared his throat and took action.  He reached down, took her hand and placed it on his forearm for her.  She blushed furiously as he gave it a pat, gave her a smile, and headed with her down the stairs.

            Hitomi became somewhat glum.  This was when she needed Van with her; everyone else had a partner except her.  She had these thoughts with her as they waded down the palace halls toward the acceptance chamber.  Through the windows, they could see the night's sky, and the shining of the Mystic Moon among familiar stars.  The atmosphere grew move festive the close they drew to Millerna's throne room.  Ahead, Hitomi could see the local nobility entering with their wives, children, friends or dates.  There were a couple sons her age, but she would only think on Van.  Perhaps this feast was just a waste of time and they should pack up and leave now.  But everyone else was taken with the gowns and uniforms of the cupper Asturian crust, the bright candlelight of the hallway, and the party noises coming form the open doors ahead.  It seemed she had no choice anymore, and she still had to persuade Millerna to help her get to Fanelia.  Maybe over dinner…

            They turned the corner to find the throne room, which had been so gloomy before, brightly lit and alive with fun as the guests laughed and talked over the sound of minstrels.  Waiters moved among the 200 some odd guests with trays of drinks and snacks.  Everyone was excited when they saw the turnout and couldn't believe it was all for them.

            "Oooooh!"  Yukari swooned.  "I feel like Cinderella!"  

            "I can't believe this is actually happening."  Jiai said, meekly. "It seems like a dream…"

            "It should be."  Daiji said.  "Until now, I figured there was no way something like this would happen today outside of a TV screen."

            "It's incredible."  Amano agreed.

            Yosu was even enchanted, Koneko hugging his arm tightly.  Hakai looked around for something to do.  He spotted some younger boys over by a suit of Armor on a pedestal and his eyes lit up.  He grabbed his sister's arm.  "Come on, Suru!"

            "Hakai!"  She was yanked along and away from the group.

            It was about then that Millerna spotted them.  She smiled and rushed over.  "You all look wonderful.  I never imagined how magnificent you all would look in non-tailor-fit clothing, but it turned out remarkable.   No one would ever guess that you're from the Mystic Moon!"

            "I thought they were supposed to know where we were from."  Hitomi recalled.

            "They will.  I'll introduce you here in a second."  She tugged Hitomi's hand then bade the rest of them to follow her.  "This way, we'll get where everyone can see you."  She stood them up on the steps to the throne, then threw out her hand for the musicians to be silent.  Everyone stopped their chatter and looked up.  Millerna cleared her throat and made her proclamation.  "Attention everyone!  These are our guests from the Mystic Moon of whose arrival you are drinking to tonight!  Please make them feel welcome!"

            With that, there was a cheer and clapping form the audience.  After they dismounted the stage, they found themselves intercepted by well wishers.  One older man came up and kissed Hitomi's hand. "Miss Kanzaki I presume?"

            "Yes."  She said without confidence.

            "It is an honor to meet you, miss," he said, "you've been proclaimed a national hero."

            "I have?"

            "Of course."  Millerna smiled at her. "What would we have done without you?  We'd probably be in ruin now if it wasn't for your intervention on the part of the allies and destroying the Fate Alteration Machine."

            "But I really didn't…"  Hitomi began.

            A plump woman laughed gaily at this.  "Oh come come!  So modest!  Such a nice girl!"

            A middle-aged woman came over to talk to Jiai.  "You know, you remind me of her majesty, don't you think so?"  Jiai didn't have time to answer; the woman kept talking.  "I think so!  You've got the Queen Aston look!  I've been trying to get it right forever, can you tell me your secret?"

            Jiai's green-blue eyes were gaping with absence of mind.  "I have no idea what you're talking about."

            The woman spotted Yukari standing next to her.  "How about you!?  Do you know her secret!?"

            "Huh?"  Yukari cried.

            "You have an Aston voice!"  She cried.  "An Aston air!  How do you do it!?"

            Yukari clung to Amano.  He moved to shield her from the woman.  "Stay away from my girlfriend!"

            "Guys…" Hitomi warned, eyeing them sidelong.

            An elderly chap with an eyepiece shook hands with Daiji.  "Hello young sir."

            "Hey."  He answered, being a full two feet taller than he.

            "You know…" The stranger squinted up at him.  "You remind me a lot of that man Dryden Fassa who was here before."            

            "I get that a lot."  Daiji answered.

            "Useless man, that Fassa was, didn't do a thing right!"  He blubbered.  "You had better not carry on like him, or you will be worthless, too."

            "I'll do my best sir."  Daiji said, unsure of how to answer.  Something about the remark made his stomach churn.

            There were a pack of teenage girls ganging up on Yosu with stars in their eyes.

            "He's so cute!"

            "A Mysterious Man from the Mystic Moon!  How dreamy!"

            "He looks just like King Van from Fanelia!  I might die!"

            Koneko put on a mischievous, Merle-like face.  "oooh…wait 'til Mom hears you've got a whole castle full of girlfriends!"

            "Hush up!"  Yosu shot, backing away from his newfound fans and nearly tripping on the stair behind him.  Koneko sniggered.

            Just then, Millerna looked up and spotted someone across the room.  Her face was stripped blank and she rushed down the stairs to Hitomi, leaning over to whisper to her.  "Hitomi!!!  It' shim!  He's here!"

            Hitomi's mind flashed directly to Van, her green eyes widening.  "Who!?  Where!?"

            "Allen!!!"  Millerna said, earnestly.  Hitomi's hopes were dashed, but were soon replaced by the same sense of fear and uneasiness that Millerna had.  The Queen broke a sweat and started rambling.  "What do I do?  What do I say?  I haven't seen him since that time…what do we talk about?  Should I act like nothing's changed?   What if I start crying again!?"

            Hitomi saw Allen's head through the crowd and hushed Millerna.  "Let him make the first move, now calm down, here he comes."

            Allen appeared, his blue eyes shining and his long golden hair down his back like the dream she'd left him in.  He had on his Caeli Knight uniform of royal blue, and his big white sleeves as always.  He was exactly the same as before, and it made Hitomi's heart catch in her throat.  It was as if this meeting marked he true return to Gaea after so many months away.  A second glance revealed to her that he had his younger sister Celena on his arm.  She was dressed in a pale green dress similar to Hitomi's except with sleeves that puffed at the shoulders in true Asturian fashion.  Celena seemed alert and pleased to be at the party, wide blue eyes like Suru's drinking in the atmosphere.  Allen scanned the crowd standing there until his eyes fell on Hitomi.  She had her stomach twist as they stared at each other.  She wasn't sure that she was happy to see him.  Even though her old feelings for him remained deep under her skin; all she had learned about his character and his past had unsettled her conviction for him; especially now after that tale Millerna had told her.  She almost felt afraid of him.  He stepped up as Millerna and Hitomi waited anxiously for a first word.  He took his eyes off Hitomi and turned to the Queen, struggling in his own right with what to say.  Even with his flaws, he was still human.  "Y-your Majesty…"  He began, formally.  He took her hand and kissed the back of her glove.

            She trembled slightly, filled with conflicting emotion.  "S-Sir Allen."

            He departed quickly from the moment, not wanting to let his own pain show, and set his sights, again on Hitomi, kissing her hand as well.  "Miss Hitomi, what a pleasant surprise."

            "Uh…likewise."  She answered.  He smiled at her but she didn't smile back.  She had a strange look in her eye as if she didn't feel comfortable around him.  He dropped his smile and swallowed hard when he saw it.  Disheartened, he changed the subject.

            "I'm, uh, I'm sure you remember my sister Celena." 

            "I do."  Hitomi answered.  She smiled to Celena, who curtsied slightly.  Hitomi did the same, a little awkwardly and the two of them giggled.  Allen sighed and regained a lighter air.

            "I was excited when I heard I'd be meeting you again."  Celena told her in a voice that was innocent and childish; there was no doubt that she and Suru were connected.  It brought Hitomi back to the screaming she's heard inside the girls' head.  When she looked up at Celena again, it was in a new light.

            The brunette realized that it was up to her to introduce everyone.  She stepped up to face the panel, pulling Allen with her.  "Everyone!"  All her companions looked and the people they were speaking to backed off.  Hitomi smiled.  "I'd like you to meet Allen."

            "Allen?"  Amano asked, recognizing him in an instant.

            Hitomi saw the primary need in the situation and pulled Amano forward.  "Okay, I know you've been waiting for this.  Allen, this is Amano."

            Amano gaped at him.

            Allen was gaping back in much the same manner, Hitomi speaking over the stare.  "Amano helped me get back because he has some sort of connection to you.  He took to you really fast, and he's been really excited to meet you…"  She stopped her narration when she took a look at the two of them.  It was very strange to see them in the same place, considering that when she was trapped on Gaea, she would always see Amano in Allen, and when she was on Earth, she would see Allen in Amano.  Seeing them both at the same time, reflected in each other's faces, was kind of paranormal.  Again, a sense of seeing both sides of the same mirror came through.  

            It was Allen who snapped her out of her disillusionment when he continued his introduction to Amano.  I, it's a pleasure to meet you, Amano.  I'm having a hard time accepting you because I only see myself in your face."

            "I've seen you before," Amano told him, "and I feel the same.  I hope to be able to get past that, though and get to know you better for yourself and not a strange copy of me."

            Jiai and Yukari were struck by Allen, too, both of their cheeks pinking up.  Jiai stepped away from Daiji and headed over.  "Wow!  He's amazing."

            Yukari felt her heard pounding.  Seeing Allen standing there brought back the memory of sitting in her living room with Hitomi, Amano and Jiai.  That was when she'd seen Allen through Amano.  "Oh my gosh…"  She felt lightheaded, and her heard was beating rapidly.  "A-Allen…"  Her vision got cloudy and she had the strange sensation of emptiness, like she was falling out of herself.  She staggered and fainted to the steps.

            Hitomi saw her go first and rushed over.  "Yukari!"

            Amano spun around.  "Oh my gosh!"  Everyone gathered around, anxious to see if Yukari was all right.  Millerna shoved her way in to apply her medical knowledge.  Amano took her up in his arms.  "Yukari!  Yukari!?!  Wake up!  Come on!"

            "Let me see her."  Millerna kneeled down and checked Yukari's pulse.  "It's weak, there's something wrong."  She looked up to Hitomi and Amano.  "Has she ever done this before?"

            "No," Amano answered, visibly shaken, "no, never."

            "Check and hold her pulse, Hitomi."  Millerna instructed.  "Tell me if there's any change."

            Hitomi picked up her hand, wishing that she knew what had suddenly happened to her best friend, when she received another vision.  She saw Yukari standing against the setting sun.  The wind blew hard and there was the shimmer of blonde hair flying.  Yukari was blown down.  The sun set fully and everything was black over the body of the girl.  Hitomi was zapped back to the present; throwing up a hand to clutch the spot she'd expected her pendant to hang.  Millerna checked the fainted girl's pupils.  "Her eyes are cloudy.  This is so bizarre, I don't know what to do."

            'Cloudy eyes?  A vision?  This happened before; When Yukari saw Amano become Allen!'  Hitomi spoke with urgency.  "I know what's going on!"

            Everyone looked at her with astonishment.  Allen, who was leaning over the top of them turned quickly to her.  "Then tell us!"

            "She's got a connection to someone on Gaea!"  Hitomi cried, moving up to shake Yukari's shoulders.  "Come back, Yukari!  Yukari!  It's Hitomi!  Come back!"

            The girl's face moved.  Everyone watched anxiously, as her brown eyes came open, the fogginess fading and the light coming back as breath caught in her throat.  Allen got a good look at her and gasped.  Amano hugged her tighter.  "Yukari?"

            "A-Amano?  Is that you?"

            A smile broke across his face.  "It's me!  You're back!"

            Tears flowed from her eyes and she hugged him tightly.  "Amano I was scared!  I was so scared!"

            "It's okay, Yu, you're alright now.  I've got you."  He assured as she cried into his chest.

            Allen straightened up and took in an unsteady breath, his eyes coming out of focus as he became lost in his own mind.  Celena took his arm and looked up to him, concerned.  Everyone was gathering around Yukari when they heard the call for dinner.  Millerna stood.  "It's being served!"  She turned to the by standing nobles.  "Please make your way to the dining hall!  We'll be along in a minute."  They obeyed.

            Jiai looked wary.  "Perhaps we should sit this out."  Koneko looked at her with pain. "I mean, Yukari's not up for it."

            "I'm up for it."  She said, emerging from Amano's shirt much calmer and collected.  "  And we're the guests of honor, we can't skip out own feast."  She tried to smile.  "The show must go on."

            "We'll stay here then."  Amano said.  "Everyone else go to the party."

            "No!  I want to be there!"  Yukari insisted.  "It's so exciting!  They are having a royal feast in my honor!  You're nuts if you think I'm going to miss it over one fainting spell."

            "It was a connection."  Hitomi recalled.  "She should end up alright, as soon as the effects wear off."

            "Lets go then."  Koneko cried, her fears at ease.  "Everybody's already taking off!  We're gonna miss out on the fun!"

            "Okay, Koneko, let's go then."  Yukari said; her spirits restored.

            Amano picked her up off the floor and held her in his arms.  "I'll carry you.  I am your prince after all."

            "Is that what you are?"  Yukari giggled.  The group started moving.  Celena tugged on Allen's arm and brought his eyes back into focus.  He followed the others, staring always at the back of Hitomi's head, which was bringing up the rear.  She was talking with Jiai, Millerna, and Yosu, who'd hung back.

            "I didn't think Yukari was connected to anyone."  Yosu recalled.  "How can you be sure she's not just coming down with something?"

            "I saw a vision when I touched her."  Hitomi answered.  "She most definitely has made contact with someone."

            "Then who?"  Asked Jiai.

            Hitomi shook her head.  "I don't know, but whoever it is, there's something seriously wrong to make her have an arrest like that.  I hope it doesn't become a frequent thing."

            "Whether it is or not, we should figure out who she's connected to."  Millerna stated.

            "If she's got a connection, it has to be to someone important."  Jiai said.  "Otherwise, why would there be one?"

            "I'm so confused over this."  Hitomi said, holding her head.  "There's so much going on…so much to take care of…"

            "Then I suggest you tackle one thing at a time."  Yosu advised.  "What's the most important thing to solve?"

            "Van."  Hitomi answered.

            "Then we'll take care of him and worry about the other stuff later."  He finalized.

            Jiai poked in with her own suggestion. "Maybe you should make a list – "

            "Hey!"  Came a call from up front.  "There's Suru and Hakai!"

            Everyone turned their attention to where the two twins were playing on the suit of armor.  Hakai was actually sitting on its shoulder as it wobbled dangerously.  Amano heaved a sigh.  "Oh no."

            "I'll get them."  Koneko offered, and dashed off.

            "Neko!   Wait!"  Yosu parted company and ran after his little sister.  They arrived next to Suru and the other children that had stopped to stare at the crazy boy climbing the decoration.

            Koneko put her hands on her hips.  "Weirdo!?  What do you think you're doing up there!?"

            "None of your business!"  He called back.

            Suru had her dress clutched tightly.  "There isn't anyone in there is there!?"

            "I'm checking, Sis, hold on!"  Hakai said, he swung down to stand on the arms and peaked inside the face guard.  "Nope!  Not unless they're invisible or really small."

            Suru sighed.  "Oh good. I'd think they'd be really uncomfortable if there were."

            "Can I trash it now?"  Hakai demanded.  

            "The boys waiting cheered him on.  Yosu turned urgently to his fellows.  "Amano!  Get over here!  You'd better stop him!"

            Amano rolled his eyes and unloaded Yukari into Daiji's empty arms.  "Hold her, I'll be right back."  He marched over and frowned up at Hakai.  "Don't even try it!"

            "You're not the boss of me!"

            "Do you want the matches back or not!?"  Amano threatened.

            "I'll get 'em back myself!"  Hakai called down. "Right now, I want to have some fun!"

            Allen stepped up next to Millerna and Hitomi, looking quizzically at the scene.  "What's up with them?"

            "They're a problem."  Millerna answered.

            "They're Amano's cousins."  Hitomi said in more clarity.  "They are also connected to people.  Suru's connected to Celena and Hakai is part Dilandau."

            Allen's eyes narrowed as he stared daggers into the blonde boy on the armor.  He hugged Celena closer to himself.  "Dilandau…"

            In the shadows of the same hall, a young man of 35 stood watching.  He was dressed formally, with sharp deep green eyes and bronze colored hair.  He looked with suspicion at the group, eyeing Hitomi mostly.  He watched as she puzzled over her next move, and as she brightened and laughed at Hakai's antics and Amano's feeble attempts at recovery.  He hadn't been told to keep his eye on her, he was supposed to be watching the whole group, but something kept drawing his eye to her.  He know why, and his heart ached because of it.  She brought with her memories that would pain him just by looking at her deep green eyes.

            "Sir Nadeje."

            He jumped as the sound of Haman's voice was heard behind him. The old man to whom he was conversing hours before appeared, also dressed formally with the palace insignia sewn into his jacket.  Nadeje regained his composure and saluted him with a nod.  "Haman."

            "You've been keeping an eye on them?"

            "Since they entered the room."  Nadeje answered.  "They haven't dropped any hints as to when they plan to go.  I thought for a moment that they were using that little episode with the girl in orange to leave early, but they're making their way to dinner with the pack.   I don't think they suspect that we are watching."

            "That's good."  Haman said.  "Any word from Trapan?"

            "Not since the Master's initial orders."  Nadeje said.  "There are all signs that we should go ahead as quickly as possible.  The party cannot get to Fanelia.  Especially not that girl."

            "Which?"  Haman asked.

            Nadeje glanced back over is shoulders, his jewel-tone eyes glinting with suppressed emotion.  "The one with the green eyes."

            "Seguir."  Haman said, using his first name and sounding less professional.  "You can't let her spoil the plan."

            "I know it."  Seguir Nadeje affirmed. "I will stick strictly to the Master's orders.  I have no choice."

            Haman bowed slightly.  "Then we should keep our ears open at dinner.  AS long as we are there, we will not look suspicious and we might uncover a departure time if we are lucky."

            "Right."  The bronze-haired man agreed. "Let's go."

            Haman headed toward the group, but turned just before he left the corner of darkness.  "I will make sure they get to the table without any diversions.  I will meet you there."

            "I will be waiting."  Seguir said, and Haman left.

            The older man came across the room through the lasts of the exiting guests and stopped at the back of them.  Allen noticed his arrival with discomfort and steered Celena way from him and around next to Millerna. Haman stepped forward.  "Is there some trouble, your Highness?"

            Millerna turned around, startled, but unlike Allen she was happy to see him.  "Haman!  Where have you been!?  I need to introduce you to our guests!"

            "Your guests seem a tad preoccupied at the moment."  Haman pointed out.  Amano had grabbed Hakai by the foot and was yanking.

            "We've got it under control."  Yukari assured from Daiji.

            "Oh do you now?"  Haman asked.

            Hakai was on the ground, and Amano took him by his collar.  "Listen, punk, I can be as mean as you can be difficult!"  He growled.  "And you had better shape up or I'll make you regret it!"

            "You cant – "  Hakai began, but Amano cut him off.  

            "Don't give me that attitude, kid!"  he yanked on Hakai's collar, shaking his head around.  "Your Mommy isn't here but you're not free of discipline!  You are my responsibility and you listen to me!"  Hakai moved to protest but Amano interrupted again.  "I don't want to hear it!  Just get your butt moving."  Hakai couldn't think to do anything but follow his commands. Suru passed Amano sheepishly. 

            "You're mean."

            "He deserved it."  Amano answered.  He walked back over and took Yukari from Daiji.

            Daiji let him take her saying; "You know, I really didn't mind…"

            "Sorry, Daiji."  Yukari grinned as she was carried off.

            Millerna pulled Haman off to the side and addressed everyone as the walked.  "This is my most trusted advisor, Sir Lis Haman.  He has been a family advisor for years and I'm really going to use him as a crutch in my future as Queen."

            "Hello, Sir Haman."  Jiai said, dutifully.

            "Hello."  Hitomi said.  He bowed his head to her, and when he looked up, her cast her a stare that seemed fake.  She looked into his sharply contrasting Asturian Blue eyes and got a chill down her spine.  She felt a pinprick at pendant level on her chest, and a vision flashed quickly before her; melefs stomping across the land, and a little girl being pulled along the ground by a woman…  A pair of bright green eyes shining in fear beneath her hood.  In that instant it was gone.  She stopped and gaped for a moment, the adrenaline pumping through her heart.  Allen took her shoulders.  

            "Hitomi?"

            She looked up and saw everyone looking back to her.  She caught Yosu's brown eyes and swallowed.  "I'm fine."  She straightened up and looked to Allen, who was reassured and removed his hands.  "I'm fine."

            Everyone continued on, talking among themselves and listening to the merits of Haman.  Millerna insisted that the aged man join them for the feast, but Hitomi pointedly avoided is gaze.  She sensed that there was something going on with him…

            Their journey led them down the hall to the dining hall where the 200 guests were already taking their seats.  Millerna, being Queen, had the a space reserved at the head of the table.  She bade everyone sit down around her end.  Hitomi sat on her left, and Jiai on her right.  Amano came in and placed Yukari next to Hitomi.  She patted him on the cheek.  "Such a gentleman."  He sat down next to her.  He didn't' want to be too far from the twins so he set Hakai down next to him.  Allen wanted to be as close to Hitomi and Millerna as possible so quickly claimed the seat next to Jiai, much to Daiji's disappointment, and planted Celena right beside him.  From there, the girls jumped in, Suru next to Celena and across from her twin, and Koneko next to her.  Yosu sat next to his sister, disappointed, himself that he wasn't closer to Hitomi to keep an eye on Allen.  He remembered the story of their previous relationship, and his conviction to protect Hitomi endured.  He glared down the table to the knight as Daiji uncomfortably made his home next to Hakai.  Haman, graciously accepted the invitation to join them, and sat on Daiji's other side, facing Yosu.

            Before sitting, he scanned and spotted Seguir in the crowd.  "Ah!  Sir Nadeje!  Please come meet the guests!"

            Nonchalantly, Seguir approached, his green eyes looking unsuspicious as he bowed and greeted Millerna.  "Your Highness."

            "Seguir!"  Millerna smiled.  She looked to the others.  "This is Sir Seguir Nadeje, Captain of the palace guard."  He smiled and nodded a bow.  Millerna gestured around her.  "This is Hitomi and her friends from the Mystic Moon."  They all said 'hi', but Hitomi was still wary from the vision she'd gotten moments earlier and was hesitant about making eye contact.  She sensed a strange sort of conflict within him and could feel his eyes boring into her.  Millerna pointed down the table.  "Sit down, Seguir, join us." 

            "Thank you, Miss."  He took a seat next to Yosu, exchanging a glance with Haman as he did.

            Millerna stood and clanged a glass to get the attention of her guests, milling about the table, continuing the party from the other room.  "If you would all please take a seat, dinner should be served in a bit!"

            Everyone thought it was a good idea and sat down.  Amano smiled up at Millerna.  "It seems like you've got this Queen thing down for being so fresh at it."

            "Believe me, I've been to a lot of these."  She said.  A dozen or so waiters came in and placed glasses of wine down at each table.  After them came a wave of salads.  Everyone began on them, casually and chatted on.  Koneko leaned over to Suru.  "I wonder if they picked this stuff up off the floor or if it's new stuff."

            Suru swallowed hard, remembering their little misadventure a couple hours before.  She pushed her plate away.  Across the table, Daiji leaned in. "So, Seguir, do you mind if I call you that?"

            "Not at all."  He answered.

            "Right."  He reached up and combed one dark brown bang aside.  "So, what do you do?"

            "I organize palace security."  He answered.  "I make sure there is someone at each post at all times.  I make sure that the queen is defended in case of any sudden attack…"  he was very casual and seemed friendly enough.  "I protect Millerna, basically."

            "And shouldn't you be doing that now?"  Yosu asked her.

            He gestured from himself to the queen.  "I am."  The waiter came by with wine, but he declined, staring continually down the table.

            Koneko grabbed her wine goblet and took a huge gulp.  She gagged on it and spat most of it back into the glass.  "Ew!  Sick!  Why do grownups like this stuff so much!?"  Suru sat quietly staring at her plate.  Koneko suddenly became very suspicious and whispered to her.  "Do you think these two strangers are the ones we heard in the library?"

            Suru turned a little green from the upset in her stomach and sank down in her chair.

            Koneko seemed determined.  "I'll keep an eye on them.  Try not to act like you know anything.  We don't want them to know we're on to them."

            Suru turned a shade of lime at the thought.  Her brother began flinging lettuce through the air with his fork.  She squinted as a couple leaves hit her in the face.  He closed one eye and aimed his catapult at the flame of the candelabra placed between them.  Amano smacked his arm and he stopped to scowl at him.  Celena seemed very interested in what the twins were doing.  Allen leaned across the table.  "So, Amano, how do you consider yourself on a social level?"

            "Social level?"  Amano asked.  He realized that Allen was trying to size him up.  "I'm the captain of the track team.  I guess I'm pretty popular at school.  I don't have any enemies really, and if your talking friends, Yukari's my girlfriend.  She's pretty much my social life in a nutshell."

            "What's that supposed to mean?"  Yukari asked.

            "Come on, Yu, you know you're the center of my life."  He said, obviously flirting being over dramatic.

            She laughed.  "That's right, I'm a slave driver!"

            Allen received a wave of emotion that tightened his throat as she laughed at his counterpart.  He cleared the lump away and asked another question.  "So how old are you?"

            "17."  Amano answered.  "18 in November."

            "When?"  Allen asked, confused.

            "November 3rd."  He answered.

            Hitomi interrupted.  "They don't use the same date system, Amano."

            "Oh."  He said, comprehending.

            Allen understood too.  "Right.  I was born on the third day under the blue moon, but I'm about four years older than you are.  Even so, you look a little older than you are.  I still can't get over how much we look alike.

            "Millerna and I are connected."  Jiai said.  "Even though we have different eye and hair color, we still look a lot the same."

            Allen seemed forlorn as he looked to her.  "I noticed."

            Millerna paused with her fork in her salad and sighed.  Hitomi stared long at Allen.  The first course came and went and soon the soup came around.  Everyone seemed to be enjoying the feast, the nobles nearly forgetting the Earthers at the end of the table while indulged in their own conversations. 

            Allen looked to Hitomi.  "So, what brings you back to Gaea?  I thought that, when you gave Van your pendant, we'd never see you again."

            "That's strange, you see," Hitomi answered, "last night; was it last night?  It seems like forever ago.  But I guess it was last night anyway.  Last night I had another of my prophetic dreams.  I dreamt that Van was in trouble, and knew that I had to get back here and save him."  She looked up at Jiai.  "So I began to find people that had connections with the people I knew from Gaea.  Jiai was Millerna, Amano was Allen, Suru was Celena, Hakai was Dilandau, Daiji was Dryden, Koneko was Merle, and Yosu was Van.  I gathered them all together holding hands, and together we were able to teleport here.  Now, I've got to get to Fanelia and help Van."  She looked up to Millerna, determined.  "Do you think you can help me!?  Please help me get to Fanelia, Millerna!  I've got to get there as fast as I can to help Van!"

            Millerna put down her spoon.  "That's a big favor, Hitomi.  I can get you to Fanelia easily, but you're trying to organize some sort of rescue mission.  How do you even know there's something wrong at all?  You said that is was a dream."

            "Dreams tell a lot."  Hitomi replied.  "And this wasn't just a dream.  It came to me a couple times while I was awake.  It was a vision.  I've gotten a lot of visions since that first one.  There's a lot of stuff going wrong around here."

            Millerna turned professional.  "I don't know, with me being so newly Queen, if taking an offensive action against a neighboring country without consulting anyone or letting the country know would be the best course of action for me.  We've got rules as royalty too, you know."

            "I had the same conversation with Jiai this afternoon!"  Hitomi cried.  "She didn't want to help me find Yosu because of principles!  Well, I told her then that I knew you'd help me if I came to her with something that I really felt needed to be done with all of my being!  And I do!  You've got to believe me!"

            Millerna sighed.  Making such decisions was wearying her, but she was still a girl, and Hitomi was still a friend.  "Alright, Hitomi, if you're sure, then I'll make certain that you get to Fanelia."

            "If you're thinking that its going to be a matter of shipping her there," Allen warned, "it might be more complicated than that."  The others looked with interest at him.  He leaned in, a shorter lock of his hair falling over his shoulder.  "I didn't want to say anything, but I've got a friend, well, an associate, who is stationed at Fanelia during the reconstructive work."

            "We have people in Fanelia?"  Millerna asked.

            "King Aston, your father may he rest in peace, signed the commission to send a small troop to help in defense while the capital city Urthas was being rebuilt.  He knew that they would need extra defense while they were preoccupied.  You can never be too careful anymore.  Not after the disaster…"  Allen looked to Hitomi, who recalled the destruction of Van's city, and the rest of his country, in a fiery ambush.  Now that she thought of it, the fort Allen was in command of had been destroyed by Zaibach in the same way.  It was no wonder why he was so serious about defenses.  His blue eyes were leveled gravely.

            "Who is this person you know?"  Millerna asked him.

            Allen stirred his soup and tried to look unsuspicious.  "I don't like using his name.  If we are planning something, I wouldn't want to jeopardize him.  He was a bunkmate of mine back when we were still training for the army.  We went our separate ways when I gained the knighthood, but I met up with him again when I settled down with Celena.  He's high ranking out there in the Fanelian detachment."

            "You said 'we' just now."  Hitomi referred to earlier in his statement.  "You said 'we might be planning something'…"

            He got up a tablespoon full of the soup.  "Well, if you're going , I'm coming with you."

            Hitomi dropped her shoulders.  "I can't ask you to do something like that, Allen!  Not with you looking after you sister and everything.  I feel bad enough messing up Gaea from being here before; I don't want to start changing things again."

            "Everyone changes things."  Allen replied.  "Anyone who does anything on either Gaea or the Moon that has any importance will change things there.  You are planning a search and rescue mission, and I intend to be involved."

            "Me too."  Millerna said.

            "No."  Hitomi insisted.  "I think I should do it alone!  That's the only way for me not to make too big of an impact on this world."

            "Hey!"  Yukari interrupted.  "What about us?"

            "Yeah."  Jiai said.  "We were going to help you."

            "About that," Hitomi said, "I think all of you should stay here where it's safe.  That way there's no chance of you being hurt."

            "You've got to be kidding!"  Amano cried.

            "You can't just waltz in and carry Van out like a package."  Allen added.  "It's going to have to be professionally done!"

            "And did you forget about Yosu's vision?"  Jiai demanded.  Hitomi took a start and stared quickly at Jiai.  "He said that he saw someone he thought was you.  It might be harder to get Van out than you think.  If he thinks that this new girl is you, then he might not WANT to come."

            "And Merle is still locked up."  Yukari pressured.

            "Wait a minute!"  Allen bade.  "What vision?  What girl who looks like Hitomi?"

            Hitomi ignored his questions but surrendered to their pleas.  "You're right, guys.  I can't do this on my own; you've made your point.  And I want all of your help, as long as I can get it without any casualties on your parts.  I just want Van out and safe again.  After that, we can go home where nothing bad can happen to any of you and my feelings can't affect Gaea."  She took a deep breath.  "I don't know how to go about this."

            "We'll meet after dinner."  Millerna resolved.  "We will share all the information and come up with a plan.  Then we can leave for Fanelia in the morning."

            Everyone nodded their agreement.  Allen stirred his soup.  Haman was listening and peered at them out of the corner of his eye.  He'd been listening to the whole discussion, and ignoring the conversation between Daiji, Yosu, Seguir and himself.  Koneko was spying him suspiciously.  Seeing that they'd come to a conclusion, he shoved away from the table and rose. "Well, I'm afraid I must excuse myself."

            "But Haman, the main course hasn't been served yet."  Millerna protested.

            "Ah, but duty calls, Your Majesty, and I must see to something more important than food."

            She sighed, and took up her spoon.  "Alright, if that is what you think is right, you should go ahead.  Thank you for joining us, Haman."

            He bowed.  "It was my pleasure, Majesty."  He looked to Seguir before leaving.  "Rest assured, all is in hand."  And with that, he strode off.  Millerna raised the spoon to her lips but Koneko called to her.  "I wouldn't eat that stuff, your highness!   It's probably got chicken juice in it!"

            Allen dropped his own spoon with a clatter and a splash back into the bowl.  Daiji coughed.  "Thanks for the warning, Neko!  I've already had half of mine!"

            "I'm sure you'll be fine."  Yosu said, shortly.

            "But if you do start puking all over the place, do it off the table."  Koneko requested.

            Daiji slouched with a disgusted look on his face.  "Now I feel nauseous."

            "And your Majesty…"  Koneko advised.  "I think we should really get out of here sooner than later."

            "Why, Koneko?" Yukari asked.

            "Shhh!!!"  Koneko warned.  "The walls have EARS!!!!  I have something I need to tell the Queen in PRIVATE!!!  Right Su?"

            Suru swallowed hard, looking about the same as Daiji.  Hakai crawled half way onto the table and started to light his cloth napkin on fire.  Suru finally spoke up.  "Don't do that.  The napkin doesn't like it."

            "Napkin Schmapkin."  Hakai retorted.  "The point is, it burns!"  Celena continued to watch in silent fascination.

            Seguir sighed to himself and stared down the table.  Yosu followed his gaze.  "Do you really have to watch Millerna constantly to qualify as protecting her?"

            Seguir shook his head.  "Its not Millerna."  He had his eye turned to the brunette to her left.  "Who is the girl with the green eyes?"

            Yosu's head whipped around to Hitomi and back to Seguir.  He noticed the twinge of emotion in the captain's own green eye and became suspicious.  "Why are you so interested in Hitomi!?"

            "Hitomi…"  He chewed on the name in his head.  "No reason, I'm just taken with her."

            "How old are you!?"  Yosu demanded, but by sight, he could tell that this man was much too old for the young girl.

            "I am 35."  He answered… "A month ago."

            Yosu nearly gagged.

            "Whoa.  You don't look 35."  Daiji said.  "I could have sworn you weren't a day older than 28, 29." 

            Seguir smiled, hints of wrinkling at the corners of his intelligent eyes.  "I'm aged enough, believe me.  I haven't had an easy time."

            "Whether you look it or not, Hitomi's only 15!"  Yosu accused.  "You could be her FATHER!"

            Seguir flinched at Yosu's harshness, and dropped his smile.  His eyes pleaded to the young man.  "I don't mean any harm.  She just…" he found himself staring at her again as a new wave of waiters stepped in to change plates,  "…reminds me of someone I know."

            The waiters came around refilling drinks, removing dishes and several bowls of untouched soup.  Behind them came servers with the main course.  A well-cooked pheasant was placed in front of each person.  Yukari grinned widely.  "Wow!  This looks great!"

            Jiai smiled across the table.  "I wonder if that's the one that landed on your head, Hitomi."

            Hitomi fumed at Jiai for bringing the subject back up.

            Allen seemed frustrated.  "Maybe we should take the little girl's advice and meet now. I'm feeling anxious."

            Hitomi lost her redness and felt her own eagerness rise within her.  "I've always been anxious; this whole time.  And I feel like this feast is inappropriate."

            "Maybe we should leave."  Jiai suggested.

            "No."  Millerna bade.  "We can't leave in the middle.  "You all are the guests of honor.  For you to leave would make everyone else uncomfortable and we shouldn't cause an upset.  Lets just sit it out."

            The others sighed. "Alright."

            Hakai was shoved into his seat, as his dinner was set in front of him.  He looked at it, strangely. "What the heck is this!?"

            "Asturian Plains Pheasant."  Seguir informed him, with a grin.  "It's a delicacy, you should be honored that you can eat it.  The Queen herself only gets in on special occasions."  

            "Yuck."  Hakai replied.  "It looks gross."    

            "You should see it when it's alive."  Seguir mused, having a waiter place his in front of him.  "It's even less appetizing."

            "I wouldn't think it looked so bad except that I was probably drinking it a second ago."  Daiji stated.

            "They're less slimy cooked."  Koneko reported.  "Right Su?"

            Suru was no longer looking sick, instead her eyes were wide in disbelief staring at the steaming pheasant sitting in front of her. "Chi-Chicken?"  Her face blanched and she sunk all the way off her chair and under the table.

            Koneko blinked after her.  Seguir laughed.  "It doesn't look that bad, does it?"

            "She hasn't been well."  Koneko said, aloofly.

            Seguir got a forkful of pheasant.  "You two were the girls the cooks were looking for weren't you?"

            Koneko snapped into her detective role.  "How do you know about that?"

            Seguir chewed and swallowed.   "Those poor kitchen aids were running al over the place looking for you.  I got tons of reports from my men that they were interrogated at their posts.  As it ended up, I think I sent a squad out looking for you."

            "You're not going to turn us in are you!?!"  Koneko cried.

            Seguir smiled good-naturedly at her.  "No, not tonight."

            "Whew."  Koneko sighed.

            Amano looked to Millerna.  "That Haman guy, the one who just left, is he really as trustworthy as you say he is?"

            "He always served my father."  Millerna answered.  "He, Meiden, and my father basically ran this country.  I have no reason not to trust him."

            "I never did."  Allen voiced.  "He and Meiden were the reason your father became a greedy man.  Haman, in my opinion, lead him into a lot of decisions that weren't the best for the country."

"Like what?"  Millerna asked.

"Marrying you off to Dryden for example."  Allen said.

"What?"  Millerna cried.

"It was solely for Meiden's gain.  It was his ego that wanted his son to be king, not the good of the country.  Haman helped convince Aston that it was the best course of action because he liked Meiden's money.  It just wasn't good leadership."  Millerna had no comment.  Allen made a face at the thought.  "He's to serpent-like for my taste."

            "How can you tell something like that?"   Jiai asked him.

            "It's a gut feeling.  I don't know."  Allen answered.  "I've got a suspicious feeling all over."

            Everyone exchanged glances and picked at their pheasant.  Having proclaimed it unappetizing,  Hakai had returned to the flame.  Suru was under the table and Celena was transfixed by the glint in the boy's eye and the tongue of the flame on the wick.  The spikes of his hair were yellow like the prongs of a plain of fire, the orange spark of the flame was reflecting in his reddish eyes.  He turned the cloth, the consuming flame licking the weave of and lighting it with the glow of embers; orange and then black as the seering flicker ate through the whiteness and curled the remnants behind it.  Among the sights, there came the sounds that trained her ear on the subtle crackling of the candle-wick and the dying napkin.  There was the hiss as flame touched new fuel, and above all there was the sniggering and muttering of the boy…  "Good!  Burn! Burn! Burn!"

            Something snapped in Celena's head, her eyes gaped as her brain throbbed and her hair bristled.  She threw up her hands to cover her ears and clamped closed her eyes.  The pain was great and disorientation swirled around her.  She balled up in her chair and screamed.  She screamed the scream of a frightened young girl and shook her head as the tried to dismiss the pain.

            Allen jumped to his feet and everyone in the hall stopped to stare.  He felt dread seize him. "Celena!!!"

            "What's wrong with her!?"  Amano cried.

            "It's another one of her episodes!"  Millerna answered, rising.  Allen kneeled next to Celena's chair, threw his arms around her, and pressed her dirty-blonde head to his chest.  In his grip, her thrashing was restricted and the tears on her cheeks were absorbed by the blue of his uniform.   She screamed and cried and he placed his cheek to her forehead.  "Celena!  Celena!  It's okay…calm down.  I've got you, Celena.  You're safe here with your big brother who loves you.  Come on, Celena, calm down… calm down…"

            The girl's screaming echoed around the now silent dinner table and the over 200 guests stared with intent at her as she was lost in the stabbing and throbbing of her own head.  Hakai ceased his burning and dropped the napkin, the flames extinguished, the grin whipped clean off his face.  Suru reappeared from under the table and looked with concern at her.  "Celena?"

            Allen hugged her close and her screams subsided as she listened to his heart and pressed herself into his embrace.  He breathed easy again, knowing that the crisis had passed and that his sister was all right again.  Hitomi was frozen with fear and confusion, not knowing what had happened.  Everyone in the dining hall was staring at the tear-streaked girl being rocked gently into a calm sense of safety.  Allen looked up at them all.  Their stares made him angry.  He removed one arm and gathered her up.  "Let's go."

            As he stood, so did Amano.  The exchanged looks.  Yukari looked up at them and stood as well.  "Let's go."  The rest of the party exchanged glances, but Hitomi understood.  This was an excuse to leave and talk sooner than previously expected.  She stood, too.  "We'll all go."

            With Hitomi being the ringleader, the rest of them, even those who had no idea what was going on, got up and left the table.  Millerna stood as all of her guests of honor left her and headed for the hall outside.  She addressed her confused nobility, some of whom were also getting up.  "Don't worry, it's just a nervous condition.  Go on with your meal, I'm going to go check on them.  Carry on as if we'd never left."

            Everyone thought that was a good idea and returned to dinner, but Seguir watched with suspicious interest, his hand on his chin.  As soon as Millerna had left the room and normal chatter had been restored, Seguir Nadeje rose silently from his own seat and headed for a side door in the shadows.  He disappeared without a trace.  No one saw him leave.

~To be Continued~


	5. Episode 5: Earnestness

Escaflowne:   Mirrors 

Episode 5:  Earnestness

            The party had all gathered in Millerna's study.  The night sky shone through the windows of her chambers, familiar stars were flickering across a slightly shifted sky and the terrace was lit by the light of the Mystic Moon.  There were twelve of them; Hitomi and her Lunar companions: Amano, Yukari, Jiai, Yosu, Koneko, Daiji, Suru, and Hakai: The knight Caeli, Allen, his sister Celena, and the Queen herself, Millerna Aston.  There was a warm fire in the hearth and lamps glowing around them.  On any other night, this would be a cheerful setting, but in their earnest mood, it only seemed to tighten the room and cast a contrasting glare on all their faces.  Allen stood by the mantle, having placed his sister in the high-backed chair Millerna had been sitting in before; the girl was hidden in shadow, the flames of the fire blocked by the seatback.  Millerna sat in another chair, and Hitomi, Yukari, And Jiai on the sofa.  Hakai was on the fireplace, poking the embers with a stoker.  Suru was next to him, her dinner dress folded neatly beneath her as she stared at the ornate rug, her blue eyes blank.  Amano was leaning on the back of the couch while Koneko made herself comfy in front of it.  Yosu was on the arm above her head.  Daiji pulled over the desk chair and sat backwards on it, his arms crossed across the top.  It was he who spoke first.  "So why are we here?"

            "We need to compile our information."  Amano reported.  "Then we're off to Fanelia."

            "But we missed dessert."  Koneko announced.

            "There are more important things than dessert."  Yosu told her.

            "It was going to be face-pudding anyway."  She sighed.  A couple heads were shook and someone breathed a sigh.

            Allen got the ball rolling.  "So where do we start?  How did this all begin?"

            "It began last night."  Hitomi started.  "I was asleep when I received a vision of… wait.. it Started before that.  Van had always come to see me.  He couldn't stay for long, but he'd appear outside my window or at the train station wearing my pendant with his wings open.  A month ago, though, he stopped coming.  I'd never see him, and I missed him terribly.  I mean, if he really was missing me, he would be transported to Earth and see me.  So I was worried that he didn't love me anymore."

            "Is that what's got you so worried?"  Millerna asked.

            "It gets worse."  Jiai assured.

            "Last night I had a vision."  Hitomi continued.  "I was Van's wings breaking, and then my pendant being pulled from his neck.  There was a young woman who pulled the chain until it broke."

            "Did you see who she was?"  Allen asked.

            "No, all I could see was her chin and her hand."  Hitomi answered.  "But I – " She recalled the image Yosu had seen when he established his connection with Van.  "I have an idea who they are…"

            "Who do you suspect?"  Millerna asked.

            "Well, before that, I need to tell you that when I found each of my friends, they experienced something about the person they are connected to.  This gave me a window to a lot of the problems going on.  When I connected Yosu, he saw a woman in the throne room with Van.  He said…"  She couldn't finish so Yosu stepped in.

            "I was in Van's head and could see through his eyes."  He said in Van's voice.  "There was a young woman there with me, him, I thought it looked like Hitomi… I think he thought she was Hitomi."

            "What do you mean by that?"  Allen asked.

            "It's simple."  Amano said.  "Just like I am connected to you, Hitomi is connected to the girl in the throne room."

            "What is this connection thing, exactly?"  Allen demanded. "I don't understand."

            "We don't either."  Amano answered.  "All we know is that it exists."

            "I'm confused."  Allen persisted.  "How do we know this isn't nonsense."

            "Just because you don't understand it doesn't mean it isn't true."  Amano replied.  "You need to be more open minded."

            "What are you implying?"  Allen defended.

            "Gentlemen…"  Millerna interrupted, calmly. "Let's not stray off the subject…we are worried about Van."

            "I think this is on subject."  Allen told her.  "I want proof that these visions are real."  
            "Why would we be here if they weren't?"  Yukari cried.

            "How could we be here if they weren't?"  Jiai added.

            "Couldn't you connect him the other way?"  Daiji suggested.  "The connection should be mutual."

            "I don't know."  Hitomi answered.  "If Earth people developed connections to Gaean people then it may only be one way."

            "Well, Amano, tell Allen what your vision was and then he'll understand."  Millerna offered.

            Hitomi hesitated, remembering that Amano's vision had been on of private matters for the knight and his sister.  "I don't know if that's really appropriate."

            "Why not?"  Allen asked.

            "Its sort of personal."  Hitomi answered.

            "We all know."  Daiji said.  "What's the problem?"

            Hitomi glanced to Millerna. "Well, Allen may not want –"

            "Just do it already!"  Allen cried.  "If it is all as bad as you are making it out to be, I'll be thoroughly convinced of your accuracy about this mess."  

            "Okay."  Amano began. "I saw you in your room at night.  You were on the floor with your back to the door and your head was in your hands while there was screaming and laughing and stuff breaking on the other side."  Allen's eyes cast down into the fire.  Amano continued.  "And I could feel how you felt… You felt responsible for whatever was going on.  Like you failed to protect Celena like you promised…"  

            "Alright!"  Allen snapped, seeming to have taken his words with an uncomfortable rawness.  "Okay, I believe it."

            "Great." Koneko grinned.  "Now we can got get the Cat Girl out of jail!"

            "What?"  Millerna asked. "I thought we were talking about Van."      

            "Koneko showed us that Merle is imprisoned in Fanelia castle."  Hitomi clarified.  "We don't know why, but we have to rescue her too."            

            "So two rescues?"  Allen asked.

            "I'm sure Van will be able to get her out when we meet up with him."  Hitomi said.

            "It sounds to me like Van is being held as well."  Allen observed.  "If he is in trouble, as you sensed, and hasn't left by his own will…He has to be being kept there."

            "But he wasn't in bondage."  Yosu objected.  "He was just sitting there."

            "He thought that the new woman was Hitomi, though."  Allen replied.  "And Hitomi's vision had her with the Atlantian Pendant. Maybe she's used its power to cast a spell on him."

            "The pendant is the power of wishes!"  Yukari cried. "And Hitomi is connected to the chick with Van, so she probably has feelings for Van, too."

            "She must have used the power of Atlantis to hypnotize Van into staying."  Jiai resolved.

            "And then she was jealous of Merle, so she got Van to lock her up."  Yukari continued.

            "And that's why she's in jail!"  Koneko cried.

            "Sounds plausible to me."  Allen nodded.

            "I told you I felt like that girl was trouble."  Yosu said.

            "So we need to find a way to sneak in, get Van and Merle, and then sneak back out."  Hitomi summed up.

            "But that would leave Fanelia without a king again."  Millerna reasoned.  "And make us kidnappers."

            "Yes," Jiai chimed in, "there's also the possibility that the other Hitomi is using Van to gain power and when we remove him the country will be left in her hands."

            "If she does not have his consent, she shouldn't gain any power should she?"  Yukari asked.

            "If its anything like a business or a company, she would have to be written off as the legal representative in Van's absence or else control would have to be transferred to the second in power or split among the highest ranking delegates."  Daiji said.

            "In Fanelia, they have always had the strict tradition of only Fanels in control."  Millerna announced. "I don't think Van would sign someone off as easily as that."

            "But if he's hypnotized…" Yukari recalled.

            "Then his advisors and statesmen wouldn't approve."  Millerna continued.

            "And Anyway, if she is written off, she would be required to include the delegates and statesmen in any decisions made about the country."  Allen said.  She only has absolute power if Van is there, so getting him out is essential."         

            "We'll take one of the royal ships and leave tomorrow morning."  Millerna resolved.

            "No," Allen said, turning to Millerna, "I don't feel you should come."

            "Allen!?!"  Millerna cried, outraged.

            "You can't get involved – !  There's too much to risk!"  He insisted.

            "You have no right to decide things for me!"  She shouted, elevating to fighting again. "First you tell me you don't love me, and now you feel like you have the right to decide what I should or should not do!"

            "Its not about that!"  Allen cried, but everyone was staring at him.  "Well…its not entirely about that!  My point is that you are worried about removing Van as King of Fanelia, but you're removing yourself as Queen of Asturia!  You are more important here!"

            "I want to be involved!"  Millerna insisted.  "I'm still 16 years old!  I want to go on another adventure with all of you!"

            "What about Asturia!?"  Allen cried.

            "What about Celena!  You're leaving her!"

            "She's coming with me!"

            "Your Majesty, wait!"  Koneko interrupted, jumping to her feet.  Allen and Millerna turned to look at her. She dragged Suru up with her.  "Su and I overheard people talking while we were hiding this afternoon.  They were talking about our plans to go to Fanelia and said that we strangers from the Mystic Moon shouldn't be allowed to get there!"

            "When did you hear this?"  Hitomi asked.

            "When we were hiding in the library.  They were talking."  Koneko answered.  "They didn't know we were there, and they didn't want anyone else to hear them."

            "Who were they?"  Jiai asked.

            "One, I'm nearly for sure was Mr. Haman."  Koneko answered.  "And I think the other could be the head of the palace guard dude."

            "That's outrageous!"  Millerna cried, in shock. "Why would Haman be against all of you?"

            "And Seguir seemed so nice."  Daiji said.

            "They were talking about a 'master'."  Koneko detailed.  "They said that the master sent them orders."

            "if Haman and Seguir are against us, then that decides Millerna's location."  Amano said.

            "Yes, she's got to stay."  Allen said.

            Daiji straightened. "WHAT!?!"

            "If she leaves, then Haman is the one everyone will turn to for leadership."  Allen said.

            "But if she stays, she's in danger!"  Amano cried.

            "If Haman and Seguir are following orders form someone dangerous, Millerna could be conquered or even worse, killed, while we're gone!"  Daiji added.

            "Well, if she comes then she'll be in even more danger!"  Allen argued.

            "But she'll have us to look after her!"  Amano replied.

            "If you leave her here, she's defenseless."  Daiji reasoned.  "She will have no choice but to bend to whatever Haman wants her to do, and if Seguir is in on it too, then even her palace guard are corrupted.  I say we take her!"

            "If you cared about Asturia, you'd have her stay!"  Allen shot at him.

            "If you cared about Millerna, you'd let her go!"  Amano challenged.

`           "I don't want to stay!"  Millerna interjected. 

            Daiji pounded his fist on the top of his chair back. "I'm taking her!  I don't care what anyone else says!"

            Yukari felt she had to break this up.  "But why would they care about us getting to Fanelia?  Even if they are taking orders from someone else, as far as we know, there si only one girl who is the problem."

            "Maybe the other Hitomi is acting under their 'master''s order's too."  Yosu suggested.

            "That's a good idea."  Jiai agreed.

            "Well, now we have a criminal mastermind."  Koneko cried. "This is so neat!  We're going to save everyone from world domination!"

            "This did get very serious and a lot bigger and more dangerous in a very short time."  Hitomi muttered.

            "So what's going to be our course of action?"  Yosu asked.

            "If there are people in this palace planning to sabotage our mission, I say we should move quickly."  Allen said.

            "Tomorrow then?"  Millerna asked.

            "No!"  Yukari cried.  "Haman and Seguir were there at the table when we decided that!  They'll be prepared."        

            "Then we should throw 'em a curve and leave now."  Daiji said.

            "Now?"  Hitomi asked.

            "They'll never be expecting that."  Amano agreed.  "Let's do it, is everyone willing?"

            "I'm not goin' no where in this!"  Hakai cried, tugging on one puffy sleeve.

            "We'll run up and change.  We've got to get our stuff anyway."  Amano replied.  "Anyone else?" 

            Daiji undstraddled the chair. "I'm ready for anything."

            "I'm ready too."  Millerna said.

            Jiai looked to the mantle.  "Allen?  Do you and Celena need anything?"

            He shook his head.  "No, we can leave now."      

            "Then it is decided."  Millerna announced, standing.  "All those who need to return to the guest wing, do so, but be casual.  As Mr. Daiji said, we're 'throwing them a curve'.  We don't need to draw attention to ourselves.  We'll meet you outside the guest wing on the terrace."      

            Everyone nodded and got up, heading for the doors to the garden, so that they could return to the northeast wing along the terrace and avoid the interior guard and suspicion concerned there.  Amano came around and grabbed Hakai out of the embers, giving Allen a disapproving look as he passed.  Allen took it with disdain.  When they'd left, Millerna turned to Allen.  "I have to change and pack.  Would you go out and get a carriage or a wagon to take us up to the Levi-ship docks?"  He nodded, accepting his formal appointment, he bent to pick up Celena, who'd fallen asleep, but Millerna bade him to stop.  "You can leave her here, let her sleep."

            Allen was wary. "I'd rather not."

            "You'll be right back," Millerna said, "just hurry."            He looked torn, but turned toward the door.  She stopped him just short of leaving.  "And…Allen…" He turned.  She looked ashamed and played with her wavy blonde hair. "I'm sorry for what I said. I was emotional.  I know that you care a lot about Asturia, and Celena."

            "And you."  He said.  She got tears in her eyes again.  He turned to leave.  "It's alright, don't mention it again."

                        *                           Escaflowne                              *

            It had been hard keeping everyone quiet on the stairs.  The anxiety of sneaking around was one that some found wore heavily on their nerves.  When they did get up the stairs and to their rooms, they moved with haste to change back into the clothes they'd arrived in.  She threw on the tan blazer with black collar and tied her neck bow haphazardly.  This time, she hadn't brought anything with her to Gaea, just her friends.  Once she'd pulled on her Nike's she poked her head back into the hall.  No one else had changed so quickly.  She recalled how long it had taken the boys just to get dressed.  She couldn't stand waiting in her room, so she moved out onto the balcony.

            The nights of Gaea had a brilliant blue glow that her home seemed to lack.  It was because of the beauty shining from the Earth in the sky.  She could see the normal moon as well, but it wasn't nearly as glamorous next to the shine of its mystic twin.  There had been a time when she'd stared at the Earth longingly, but now she barely noted its presence past the peace it cast on the city below.  Over the mountains on the outskirts, she knew Fanelia lay somewhere.  She sighed.

            A hand came from behind and took her shoulder.  She suddenly got another flash vision…the eyes of the child she's seen before being rushed away form the Guymelefs…large, innocent, frightened, and deeply green… She caught her breath and threw her hand up to her heart.  The owner of the hand appeared next to her, his brown eyes concerned under his forking orange bangs.  "You okay?"

            She swallowed her fear and stored the vision, the nerves in her spine tingling still.  "I'm fine, Yosu, you just startled me."

            "Oh, okay."  He leaned on the railing and looked out to where she'd been staring.  His school uniform was navy blue and zipped up the front with a high collar.  He played with his hands, seeming uncomfortable.   "He's out that way?"

            "What?"  Hitomi asked.

            "Van."  Yosu said.  It was strange hearing Van's voice say his own name.  "He's over those hills?"

            She nodded.  "Somewhere…."

            He took a deep breath and turned to her.  "Look, Hitomi, I feel strange like this… this connection thing."

            "What do you mean?"  She asked.

            He leaned back on the banister. "I don't know… I just met you, really, but… maybe it's the connection to Van… but I feel like I should be something to you… a protector, a boyfriend, a king…" He shook his head.  "Van is quite a guy to live up to…"

            "Yosu," Hitomi reassured, "I'm not asking you to be anything you don't want to be.  But, whether it's the connection or not, I can see Van's nobility in you.  They met eyes and she faltered, blushing and turning to lean on the banister too.  "I mean, the way you look out for Koneko… you do a great job at being an older brother. That's something Van really has never had to be…  He was the younger one… and while Merle is younger, they grew up as friends, not siblings.  And Koneko treats you differently than how Merle would treat Van.  I think you've proven that you can be just as good a guy."

            He turned his head, but didn't look at her, just the wall on the far side of her.  "I think the connection has me feeling like I should be in love with you."

            Hitomi didn't know what to say to that, she brought her hand up to feel for the pendant she wasn't wearing.  She felt like she had to say something, but was spared when Koneko appeared in her blue and red sailor-like school uniform, her eyebrows cocked.  "Oooooh, Yosu, Mom's gonna be maaaad!"

            Yosu blushed quickly but responded in an instant.  "Nothing happened!"

            "People only say that when something DID happen."  Koneko said, shaking a finger.  "She's already got a boyfriend, home wrecker, don't get sweet on her."

            "You've been watching too much TV."  Yosu told her, but she just smiled at him.

            Jiai and Yukari showed up in the same uniform as Hitomi. "What's going on?"

            "Nothing."  Koneko sniggered.

            Amano came out in the male version of their uniforms; a tan blazer and pants with a black tie.  He looked solemnly around.  "So what are we going to have to do from here?"

            "We've got to sneak down to the docks somehow without being spotted."  Hitomi answered.  "It's the royal guard that we're hiding from so it's going to be difficult."

            "How are we going to get Millerna out then?"  Jiai asked.

            "I'm sure Allen has a plan."  Hitomi assured.

            Amano rolled his eyes.  "hmph…Allen."            

            "What's wrong, Amano?"  Daiji asked, appearing from the hall back in his khaki slacks, white tee shirt, and red dress shirt buttoned over it.  "Allen not what you expected?"       

            "Yeah," Amano sighed, "he's not what my first impression made him out to be."

            "He's had a hard life."  Hitomi said.

            "Well, whatever," Amano shrugged, "I can't believe he was going to leave her behind."

            "Go get your cousins, we're ready to go."  Yukari told him and he obeyed.  The young man reached Hakai's door first and rapped on it.  "Hey!"  His call was sort of a stage whisper.  "Hurry up!"

            "I'm coming!  Don't think I WANT to stick around here wearing girly sleeves!!!"

            "Just hurry up."  Amano replied.  He moved on to Suru's door.  "Suru?  Come on out!  We're leaving!"

            "I'm coming."  She appeared n her jeans and a baggy blue sweater with random pink specks.  She had her paper doll with her.  Hakai appeared moments later in his gray shirt and darker jeans, a navy blue strip printed across his chest.  He seemed suspiciously pleased with himself.  Amano glanced into the room he'd left to find the boy's rich clothes ripped apart and scattered in frayed pieces throughout the room.  He could spot pieces of mustard yellow and puffy white in the most inaccessible places, he didn't even want to begin to figure out what had happened.  The 17-year-old shook his head and closed the door to hide the scene and pretend like he'd never seen it.

            Amano turned to everyone on the balcony.  "Let's get out of here."

            Hitomi nodded and moved in front to take the lead.  They headed down the stairs, quietly, not wanting any notice to be made of them.  They moved down to the first floor and out onto the terrace, where as promised, Allen was waiting.  He 'psst' and beckoned them over.  "I've got a wagon.  We're going to pretend that you are coming with me to take Celena home.  Millerna's hidden on the floor.  Don't step on her."

            "Good plan."  Daiji whispered. "Fast plan."

            "Let's go."  Allen turned and led them out over the stone-slated palace deck way and down a set of moonlit steps to the modest little wooden wagon he'd procured.  The knight got in the front seat; Celena was next to him, changed into a simply green riding dress, but wearing a riding hood to hide the change.  He took up the reins to the camel-looking Gaean horse and turned back to where everyone was still standing below.  "Sit around the walls on the bench."

            Millerna peeked her head out of the back.  "Hello everyone."

            "Millerna!"  Allen cried, hoarsely.  "Get down!  You don't know who might be watching!!!"

            "Ooops!"  She disappeared along the floor again under a heavy black cloth.  "Don't step on me!"

            "We've been warned."  Amano replied.  Hitomi climbed up and sat along the front, at Millerna's head and behind Celena.  The others filled in, Yosu next to her and behind Allen, Koneko next to him, then Daiji and Jiai next to him.  Yukari and Amano were on Hitomi's other side with Amano's charges; Suru and Hakai.

            Allen turned around to issue some last instructions.  "Now be wary, but be casual.  We're going to have to pass the guard at the gate, and its got to look like nothing's wrong."

            "We'll try."  Jiai said.

            Yukari looked to him.  "Don't worry, we'll make it."

            Allen studied her face, then turned back to the horse.  "Alright, we're leaving."  He lashed the reins and they started leisurely around the corner of the castle.  There wasn't supposed to be a road along that side, but they intercepted one of the bridges over the moat and crossed to the outer wall.  Their wagon arrived at the gate at a steady walk that seemed to take eternity for its passengers who sat in constant struggle over their appearance.  When the gatekeeper finally addressed them, Hitomi felt her nerves were rubbed raw and couldn't help fidgeting in her seat and playing with her hands.  Yukari reached over and stopped her from messing with the hem of her skirt.  Allen hailed the gatekeeper.  "Please open the gate!  I need to leave for the night!"

            "Who's that!?"  The gatekeeper asked, moving from the wall along the ground to the wagon.  

            "Sir Allen Crusade Schezar VIII, Knight Caeli of Asturia."  The blond replied.

            "Oh!  Sir Allen!  Of course!"  The gatekeeper said, rushed.  "I didn't recognize you in the dark!  I'm sorry.  Please state your business."

            "My sister needs to return home.  She isn't well."  He answered.

            The guard looked over the others in the wagon.  Hitomi swallowed hard while he as inspecting them.  It wasn't a lie, Celena wasn't well, and they all felt like they were doing a good job being convincing.  But the gatekeeper was concerned with something a little more obvious.  "Aren't these the visitors from the Mystic Moon?  Why are they in your wagon?"

            Hitomi felt panicked and tried to explain herself, but her nervousness had delayed her reflexes.  Yukari spoke quickly for her.  "Allen is a good friend of Hitomi's.  We felt bad that he had to go home, so we offered to accompany him."

            "P-Plus he promised us a tour."  Amano added.

            The others gave him a look, but Jiai covered his tail.  "I've heard…from so many people that Asturia is so pretty…by night!"

            The man seemed convinced.  He unlocked the door and swung open the gate, tipping the hat of his uniform.  "Then good evening, Sir Allen, and I will keep my eye out for the other's return."

            "Thank you."  Allen said, and the wagon moved out of the courtyard and away from the palace.  When they were out of earshot, everybody let out a sigh of relief.

            Yosu slouched.  "That was close."

            "Smart thinking, Yu."  Amano congratulated, putting his arm around her. "I love it when you're assertive like that."

            She giggled, but shoved him.  "You didn't help!  Why'd you add that tour bit in there!?"

            "Sincerity?"  Amano offered.  "To make it sound real?"

            "It was real enough without your input."  Yosu told him.  

Allen remained silent and focused on the road.  Millerna pulled the cover off of her head and sat up. "That worked well!  I was so scared we'd be found out!"

            "Don't talk so loud, Millerna, there are patrolling soldiers all around the streets.  If they overhear, it's the end."  Allen said, quickly and quietly.

            "I'm tired of being under the rug."  She answered.

            "What does it matter anyway?"  Yukari asked. "Jiai has her voice."

            "You sound a lot like her too."  Daiji told her.  "Maybe we should all be quiet."

            "Good idea."  Allen whispered.

            "Just as well."  Jiai said, dreamily.  "It's great just staring at the sky.  Asturia really is pretty at night."  They rode in silence, several staring at the stars with Jiai.  It calmed their fears, and it was their fortune that they didn't run into any more of Seguir's guardsmen.  They made their way along the seaside moors; water bound boats tied and clunking against the wood with the ocean waves.  While these were fine, the party was moving over land, so they headed up a hill to where the Levi-ship docking pad was tucked into the bluffs.  There were several royal yachts, barges, and flagships, but the place was mostly packed tight with private or commercial vessels.  There must have been dinner guests from further off than just Palas, because as Allen looked, he'd never seen the Levi-Ship dock so full.  The bluff tethers were all full, the ships sandwiched together tightly, and the seaside tethers were also full, creating somewhat of a long thin horseshoe of ships stretched out like a tunnel before them.  At the head, he spied a line of guards in royal uniforms.  The knight made quick judgment, stopped them while they were still a ways off, and climbed out, taking Celena up in his arms.

            "What's wrong?"  Hitomi asked.

            "It's guarded."  Allen said.  "There's a lot of wealth stored in those ships. I think we'd have better luck if we sneak onto one form the outside instead of riding straight in."

            "You realize that we don't have a crew, right?"  Millerna asked.

            "We'll have to manage."  Allen answered.  "I have some flight experience from captaining the Crusade.  Speaking of, its too bad we can't pick my crew up, they typically sleep on it."

            "You rebuilt the Crusade!?"  Hitomi asked, remembering the fate of Allen's private ship from the Zaibachian war.

            "Yeah," Allen answered, "Gadess and the others wanted to.  They practically live on it now because of all the work.  It's mostly done, but it's moored pretty deeply in there as of two days ago.  It'll be faster and easier to grab one of the royal yachts; they're in better condition.  We'll just have to fly it ourselves."  Accepting this as the way it would be, they all snuck up closer to the air dock and found it even more heavily guarded than Allen had imagined.  There were four men at the entrance and pairs spread along the two rows keeping watch.

            Amano whistled.  "How are we going to get on these?"

            "We need a diversion."  Yosu stated.

            Daiji looked a little mischievous.  "I've got an idea…"

            Everyone looked to him.  "What is it?"

            "You'll see.  Be right back."  He hurried off the way they'd come.

            Millerna stared with anxiety.  Allen watched a little more annoyed over his sleeping sister's head.  "What's that guy think he's doing?"

            The man arrived back at the wagon and lined the horse up with the entrance to the docks.  With no warning, he wound up and smacked the beast in the behind.  The hitched horse freaked out and ran break-neck down the road toward the guards.  The rest of the party watched it pass.  Amano frowned.  "What in the world!?"  But the wagon did the trick.  The horse didn't stop running until every guard had leapt for cover, seeing the crisis, they all ran to catch the mad horse as its wagon bounced violently on its wooden wheels and its eyes glinted in fright and light of the moons.  

            Daiji returned, sniggering.  "How was that?"  Millerna grinned.

            Allen turned to everyone else.  "Come on!"  They ran and made it into the docks, unnoticed in the ruckus, but hid along the bluffs so that none of the soldiers would catch glimpse of them as they returned to their posts.  Millerna glanced quickly around at the back end of the ship they were hiding under.  "This is the Valiant.  I was my father's yacht.  We can use it."  She walked around it.  "its riding awful low, though, there might be something wrong.  The belly is touching the ground."  She found where the gangplank was supposed to drop and tried to open it.  She tried several times, going through the motions she was pretty sure the crew would go through whenever her family would take this ship out.  Still she couldn't open the door.  Afraid that her noise would alert the guards, she moved back to the group.  "It's sealed!"

            "What do you mean?"  Allen asked.

            "I mean; it's locked."  She answered.  "We should have thought to bring a key."

            "I don't think that'd do it, Your Highness!"  Koneko called.  Everyone looked over to what she was inspecting.  She'd found why the Valiant was riding so low, it had been secured to the stone floor by thick chains and huge iron padlocks, three keyholes in each.  "Not unless you brought a lot of keys."

            Millerna rushed over.  "The ships were never secured like this!  Not even the most valuable royal flagships!"

            "Every one of these is chained!"  Jiai observed, scanning the line extending from them.  At every ship, there were four huge locks with three keyholes attaching the ship tightly to the ground via thick, round, heavy chains.

            Hitomi began to fret.  "What are we going to do!?!"

            "Hush!  Don't panic!"  Allen bade.  "I know for a fact that I didn't tack the Crusade down like this!  We just need to find our way to it without getting caught."

            "How far back did you say that was?"  Amano asked.

            "Near the end."  Allen replied.  "I've been here for months, so I got a spot that wasn't used as often.  I had no idea I'd be making a secret escape."

            "You need to plan for these things."  Daiji said.

            "We're going to have to be quiet."  Allen said, ignoring the sarcasm.  "Follow me."

            "Hsh!"  Yosu snapped.  Everyone froze as he indicated a guard that had just returned to his post a couple feet way in front of the Valiant.  They all hushed up, their hearts in their throats.  Hitomi knew that if they were caught, it would be the end of everything.  Van would remain under the control of her Gaean counterpart, she and her friends would be stuck at Asturia castle, or worse…with Haman and Seguir working for a criminal mastermind, she might end up seeing her friends punished for what they were doing now.  Everyone had started moving and she swallowed her fears from her head and let them slosh around in her gut.

            Hakai pouted.  "This is so boring."

            "Hush!"  Amano scolded sharply.

            "We've been sneaking around all night!"  Hakai replied.  "There's got to be a faster way to find this ship."  He stopped in front of one of the huge chain and locks, and followed it with his reddish eyes up to the flat wing of the anchored vessel.  "I know how!"  With a battle cry, he leapt up onto the chain and began climbing it up like a monkey.  The chain clanked on the metal of the wing and the entire vessel, being smaller than the valiant, shook visibly as he scaled it.  The nearby guards whirled around. 

            "What's that!?  Someone's there!"

            "Who's back there!?"

            Allen's eyes dashed around.  Soldiers were running up from all stations.  All reason was dismissed.  "Run for it!"

            No one argued and everyone broke into a sprint along the back of the ships.  Amano dashed up the chain after his cousin.  "Hakai!!!"

            Allen was hindered by Celena in his arms.  Eh stopped and everyone looked to him. "Keep going tot eh Crusade!  Split up so that you can't get caught as easy!"

            "What does the Crusade look like!?!" Yukari cried.

            "It'll be the one not chained!"  Hitomi yelled.  She headed on, searching the line.  Jiai came up behind her.

            "Where is it!?"

            "I can't see it."  Hitomi answered.

            "You girls!"  One soldier called from around the side of a ship.  "Come out of there!"

            "Yipe!"  They ran further, but the guard followed them.  Hitomi skidded to a stop when she found another one headed straight fro them.  Jiai bumped into her from behind.  "What do we do!?"

            Hitomi grabbed her hand and ducked under the belly of one of the smaller ships that was floating at least five feet from the ground.  "This way!"  They climbed out into a bath of moonlight that shone off their beige blazers and alerted the soldiers standing guard down the way.  They ran up, holding halberds with glinting blades.  Jiai clung to Hitomi, but the girl was strangely calm. At the end of the line, she could see the shoulder-mounted Levi-stones and the nose of the Crusade.  The shouts of the two soldiers coming from behind them, and the new, armed ones approaching from ahead shocked her back to the present.  She unhitched Jiai form her arm and shoved her toward the opposite line of ships.  "Run that way!  It'll be harder for them to catch us if we split up!  Make your way to the back!"

            Jiai started but turned back.  "What about you!?"

            "I'm going the same way!  Just run!"

            Jiai didn't stick around to be told a third time, she ran off and disappeared behind a sail barge.  Hitomi switched on her track run and took off back along the bluffs and toward the spot where she'd seen the Crusade.  The two guards with halberds took off after her.  She had them behind her, her heart pumping in her head and the pounding of her feet filling her ears.  She ran along the stone wall, the shadows of the towering vessels enveloping all in front of her.  To her left, chain after chain dashed by.  Every vehicle was tacked to the ground by these chains.  She pulled her eyes away, keeping them trained for the rear of the Crusade.  The soldiers weren't far behind her.  Their lances slowed their running, but she could hear them when she'd focus on them.  Her heart kept hammering against her ribs and panting rawed her throat.  The anxiety of trying to find the ship without being caught sloshed about in her gut with her fear.  Finally, she spotted one of the rudder tails of the Crusade.

            Two more ships to go…the target eased timidly into view.  One more ship.  She was there!  But she stopped cold on sight…The ship was draped in the same thick, heavy, unbreakable tethers that all the ships around were subjected to.  There was one draped on the inside of each Levi-stone.  Their only hope of escaping sagged to the floor like a man tacked to a dungeon wall and pressed by his arms to the cold stone; unable to fly.

            Despite the shattering of her hopes and the heavy thudding sound of them as they hit her gut to mingle with her fears; the shouts of the approaching guards made their way to her ears.  She couldn't keep running.  This was where she was supposed to be, and she couldn't' defend herself against the armed soldiers.  Panic struck her anew.

            "Hitomi!"

            She whirled around…a flash vision filler her head with the image of a tall strong man, wings unfolding form his back… when she actually saw with her eyes, it was Amano standing on the roof of the vessel next to the Crusade.

            "Hitomi!  They're behind you!"

            "HEEEEYAH!!!"  Hakai leapt from the ship with Amano and landed like a spider on the top of the flat stone, the Crusade dipping from impact and scraping the floor.

            Hitomi called up to Amano.  "This is it!  But it's chained down!"

            "Hold on!"  Amano wound up and leapt after his cousin, who'd run off up the spine of the craft toward the cockpit where Hitomi spotted lights coming on.  Amano climbed down over onto the flat edge of the wing.  "Get up here!  They can't get you up here!"

            Hitomi had no better ideas.  She ran forward and jumped up onto the chain.  It was a lot longer of a climb than she'd thought it would be from the ground, but his arm was outstretched for her, encouraging her.  She tried to reach back with one hand, but nearly slipped off the chain.  She realized that she had no idea how to get up, and hung five feet from the ground with her hands in two of the links.  The soldiers came out form the shadows into the Crusade's docking space.  "There she is!"

            "Hitomi!"  It was Merle…or Koneko's voice that called her name, now, she appeared atop the same ship that Amano had come from.  "Hurry and climb!"

            "Koneko!?!"  Hitomi cried.

            "It's no sweat!  It's just like the monkey bars on the playground!"

            Hitomi began hand over hand to climb the chain.  The guards were coming still, their blades waving in the air, but she focused on Amano, his hand just three feet away…a foot… a couple inches.  She reached out and grabbed it.  He pulled her quickly up onto the back of the ship and out of danger.

            "Hooray!"  Koneko cheered, then jumped down to the Crusade, herself, more catlike than spider like.  The guards were on the ground yelling up at them.  Koneko dropped down to sit next to Hitomi on one of the links. "So this is it?  I thought Allen said that he wouldn't have these."

            "Someone else must have put them on."  Hitomi answered, then she remembered that the others were still out there running around.  "Allen!  And Jiai and Yukari and Yosu!  They won't know the Crusade with the chains on it!"  She jumped up and climbed over the top to join Hakai where he was performing an end-zone dance on the nose.  Hitomi scanned the moonlit ground below for fugitives.  She spotted Yosu headed her way.  "Yosu!!!"  Jumping up and down, she waved her arms and he looked up.  "Over here!  Get on top!"  He dashed up and climbed the chain with relative ease, swinging himself up and onto the other wing.  She ran to see that he was okay.  He looked up.

            "Where's Neko?"

            "Right here, Yosu!"  Koneko appeared, smiling like a kitten.  "Were you worried about me?"

            "Where'd you go!?!"  Yosu cried.

            Koneko answered simply.  "Up."

            Hitomi returned to watching for the remaining few. Yukari appeared as she crouched along the belly of a nearby vessel.  She had Suru's hand and Millerna was right behind them.  Hitomi called to them.  "Over here!"

            Yukari spotted her and urged Suru along.  "Hitomi!"

            "Climb up!"

            Amano hung himself halfway off the wing.  "Give me Suru!"  Yukari and Millerna boosted the girl up to his hand and he pulled her on top.  When he reappeared, Millerna got a leg up to him, and Yukari began to climb, making it with some difficulty and Amano's help, out of danger.

            "What's this?"  She asked, looking at the anchors.

            Amano was glad to see her unhurt and gave the chain at his feet a quick glance before returning to her eyes.  "A problem."

            "Who's missing?"  Yosu demanded, coming to stand next to Hitomi.

            "Allen and Celena, Jiai, and Daiji."  She answered quickly.  She spotted her two guards with halberds rushing out from between two ships further down the row.  She hadn't even thought about them or notice them leave.

            Yosu took his wing as a lookout post, searching the shadows opposite the side Hitomi had come.  There was no sign of anyone except the sounds of guards shouting.  Suddenly, Hitomi heard something from behind.  There was a creaking and the sound of metal slamming on metal.  She whirled around to see light pouring out on the tails of the crusade first officer Gadess appear on the roof.  "What the - !?!"

            "Gadess!"  She cried.  She ran over; he was tall and strong with dark blue-black hair and dressed in typical Asturian garb.  He recognized her closer up.

            "You're - !!!  But how!?!"

            "We've got to get out of here!"  Hitomi cried.  "Unlock the ship from the ground!"

            "I can't!"  He answered.

            "Hitomi!"  Yosu called.  "I see Daiji!  And Jiai's with him!"  Hitomi looked back and forth between Gadess and Yosu, then decided which was more pressing and joined the orange-haired boy on his wing.  Gadess followed.  Down below, the tall man in red was glancing from the cover of the neighboring ship, a scared and helpless Jiai hiding behind him.  Yosu called.  "DAIJI!!"

            His head snapped up, and he seemed to e relieved.  He reached back and pulled Jiai out.

            "Climb up here, Jiai!  The soldiers won't get us up here!"  Hitomi called to her.

            "I can't reach that high!"  She cried, her voice trembling.  Daiji grabbed her waist.  

            "I'll boost ya.  Somebody grab her hand!"

            Gadess got down on the wing and grabbed her up to safety.  Daiji jumped and caught the chain, then Gadess's hand when it was free.  The Asturian turned to Hitomi.   "Who are all these people?"

            "They're with me!  And we need to get out of here!"

            "We're locked down!  They even sealed the hatch!  We've been stuck here all night.  They threatened that if we tried to leave, we'd be arrested."

            "Arrested!?"  Hitomi cried.  "Who would have done this so suddenly!?"  But she realized who had done it.  Who was it who had heard them planning to leave just an hour or so beforehand?  "Haman!"

            "Where's Allen?"  Jiai asked.  "He's still carrying Celena!"

            "ALLEN!?!"  Gadess cried.  "Allen's here too!?"

            "Running away from these stupid guards."  Daiji affirmed.

            "There he is!  I see him!"  Koneko called, pointing.  Allen appeared with Celena still in his grip.

            Gadess couldn't believe his eyes.  "It is Allen!"  Without a second thought, he swung down to the ground and ran to meet him.

            The blond was out of breath when they met.  "Gadess!  Get us out of here!"

            "I would if I could sir!"

            "Allen!"  Yosu called.  "Hurry and get up here!"

            Gadess took Celena quickly and Allen whirled around, his hand to the hilt of his sword.  The 16-year-old was passed to Daiji over the wing, but Gadess remained on the ground, running to the assistance of his boss.  With the knight's sword drawn, the guards stopped in a semicircle around them.  Their instructions were to stop whoever tried to board the ships, but most were unarmed and not ready to taste the blade of the master swordsman.

            Hitomi was stuck above, fretting.  Things seemed bad.  Everyone was safe on top except for Gadess and Allen, but it would only be a matter of time before they'd all be taken down.  The ship was chained down and the crew was trapped aboard.  The guards would find a way up to them and then…  The soldiers slowly closed in, stepping around the stone block where the chain was held to the ground by its three-key holed lock.  That lock was the bar that completed the cage.  The four locks connected the chains to the earth.  If she could get rid of those locks, they'd be free.  If two were broken, they could escape, but she could see as the guards passed it, that it was secure.  But wait…as the man cleared out of the way, she could see the lock grove on the arm, like it was  peeking out of  the works, but definitely not locked.  A window of opportunity was blown open wide.  She took off running over the roof.

            Yosu was too slow to stop her.  "Hitomi!?!  What are you doing!?"

            She slid down the chain as far as she could before falling off and swinging to the ground.  She shoved past the guard and to the lock.  She yanked the arm and it came undone completely, but it was still linked between the chain and the moor.  The weight of it was holding the tether in place.  The guards were acting on her so Allen shoved through to defend.  They were still in fear of his sword.  Hitomi pulled as hard as she could.  "It's unlocked!"

            "What!?!"  Allen cried in disbelief.  "Did you say unlocked!?"

            She strained, but her strength wasn't enough.  "It's too heavy!  I can't get it off!"

            Those watching from above were amazed as well.  "One of the locks isn't locked?"  Yukari thought aloud.  "What about eh others?"

            "Looks stable!"  Yosu said, staring towards the back corner.

            Jiai ran to the other front lock.  "This one looks closed!"

            "WAIT!!!"  Koneko cried.  "That one down there!"  The lock diagonal to Hitomi's was hanging open.  Everyone rushed to see.  Amano moved to dismount.

            "I see it!"  He dropped.  Daiji came too, realizing that he was the biggest, if not strongest, one available.  The guards were torn about who to arrest first.  Gadess shoved through and took a hold of the lock Hitomi was straining on.  Amano and Daiji both clasped the arm of theirs and counted off.

            "One…Two…Three…PULL!"  The two of them got it up and out of the chain links.  The end of the thick metal went limp in failure and the Crusade tilted up to one side, free of its burden.  The two men shook hands and climbed the hanging chain like a rope ladder.  The soldiers were at a loss.  Half the pack ran over to bark and see what had gone wrong.  Gadess got ready to pull theirs while Allen's ship tilted dangerously.  The passengers scrambled to the opposite wing, trying to weigh it down.  Gadess's slid the metal up.  The tight chain made it hard to move the lock completely off as it remained a strong link between the chain and the ground.  Gadess took a deep breath and one huge shove that freed the link and the Crusade floated up to even out.  The stones were on low steam and the ship floated slowly into the air, leaving the three on the ground behind if they did not act quickly.

            Hitomi was frozen, not knowing what to do.  Allen sheathed his sword.  "Get on board!"  Hitomi didn't move.  "Up the chain!"  She glanced up, the end was getting farther away from her.  Gadess moved to grab it.  He took the end and was pulled off the ground.  "Boss!"  Allen grabbed Hitomi up around the waist and shoved off he moor to grab the chain.  Gadess's shoulder was a step, but he could climb no higher with only one arm at his disposal.  The guards were too far to reach them, although the halberds of the two swayed very close. 

            Reeden, the lookout appeared on the roof. "What the heck is going on!?  What's with all these people!?"

            "Reeden!"  Gadess called from below.  "Tell them to stoke it!"

            Reeden heard his superior's voice.  "R-Right chief!"  And disappeared back inside.  The ship began to rise straight up in the air; the chains, their ends still attached to the ground, were raked across the inside of the Levi-stones.  Allen, Hitomi and Gadess found themselves on an elevator that was chinking upward at a quickening pace.  The wing came closer.  She could see the others running across the top. Before she knew it, she'd been transferred from Allen to Amano, the chains had slumped off the ship in defeat, and the passengers on the back had been hurried inside, and whisked away into the night…

~To Be Continued~


	6. Episode 6: Intutiveness

Escaflowne:   Mirrors 

Episode 6:  Intuitiveness

            Endless Sky.

            Hitomi was soaring above all else. She wasn't in a ship.  She wasn't in a plane.  Just flying over everything.  She could see the wind rustling the sleeves of her blazer, and birds flitting around her like she was one of them.  It was liberating.  Down below, the land looked peaceful and dry like a sun-starched plain or prairie.  Ahead she could see a city made of sharp black angles.  Suddenly, flame sprung up all around it.  The fire didn't burn the buildings, but the sky turned red.  Her flight failed her and she spun out, falling down to the newly scorched and cracking earth.   She hit it face down, dirt scattering from beneath her, and looked up to see one…no three Guymelefs trundling toward her.  They were close and getting closer, their huge metal feet stomping the ground and shaking up dust all around.  Something told her that they were coming to get her…

            Hitomi leapt up, her running shoes pounding up her own dust as she ran away.  The long heavy strides of the mechanical soldiers caught up to her quickly.  Before she knew it, she was being clamped around the middle by a mightily powerful fist and hoisted screaming into the air.  She was carried up and up, squeezed by the hydraulics in the captor hand.  Her angel absent and deaf to her cries for help.

            Bolt upright in bed, she stared out in a cold sweat, blinded by the dark of the night.  There was movement in the cot beside her and Jiai appeared, drowsy and stirred by her friend.  "What's wrong, Hitomi?"

            Like so many times before, she felt her neck for what wasn't there.  She'd had another dream vision, but she didn't know where this one had come from.  This was the first one she'd had in a long time in which Van hadn't rescued her….  She looked to Jiai, who's aquamarine eyes caught the light of the moons through the porthole.  "I – I had another vision."

            "Of Van?"  Jiai asked, shoving herself up.

            "No…of…"  She ran it through.  Things seemed familiar…like the melefs and the city, but they weren't of enough familiarity to pinpoint.  "I think it was of destruction."

            "Destruction?"  Jiai was confused.  "You mean something in the future?"

            Hitomi threw her hands up to her head.  "I've been having so many visions lately.  My head is spinning."  She looked over.  "What time is it?"

            Jiai checked her watch.  "3:00 AM."   

            "I always seem to wake up at three."  Hitomi sighed.  Her mind was so full of questions, the thought of sleep wasn't even present.  She climbed out of bed.  "I'm going to walk around a little and think.  Go back to sleep."  

            "Okay."  Jiai agreed, and turned over in her cot.

            Hitomi was already sleeping in her shirt and skirt, so she pulled on a pair of socks and stepped over a sleeping Yukari to get out the door.  The halls of the Crusade were quiet except for the far away sounds of the crew on the bridge and the cycling of the boilers and propellers.  Next to her room, was the room being shared by all the boys.  For all she could tell, Yosu, Amano, Daiji, and Hakai were asleep.  Allen was staying in there too, but he'd felt like he wanted to stay in the cockpit while they were traveling.  She wondered why he'd chosen to sleep in the room with the other guys when he had a private chamber reserved for him just upstairs.  Then she remembered that he'd left it to Celena, who was sleeping alone.  She found that strange as well.

            She didn't feel like joining the rough crewmen and Allen above.  She wanted to sit and think, so she headed up and out to the hangar where she knew it would be open to the night sky.  The hangar was like a tomb.  There was no sign of life, and the walls were cold and blue in the mystic moonlight.  The only Guymelef there, Allen's suit-of-armor named the Scherazade, stood dead and quiet, like a stone soldier frozen at attention.  She watched it as she past, her stocking feet making practically no sound over the ship's propellers outside the open door.  The flat extension of the hangar was a runway granting access to the open air.  She expected to be alone, but saw there a young woman with long wavy blonde hair.  She was Millerna Aston dressed in her traveling clothes and staring out at the darkened world with a sorrowful sense of unawareness.  Her hair was down and it blew about in the wind as she stared at nothing in particular.  Lost in thought, she had both hands in front of her, fiddling with the necklace she was wearing.  Hitomi hadn't noticed Millerna's absence from the bedroom with the other three there in the dark.  She also didn't remember seeing the long chain around her neck before.  Millerna seemed lost in thought as she pulled on the two pendants and turned them in her hands.  Hitomi stepped closer and could see that they were a pair of rings.  "Millerna?"

            The queen looked startled and jumped, covering the rings in her fists.  "Oh! Hitomi!   Why are you up this late?"

            "I had a … nightmare."  She answered, not wanting to go into detail.  "What about you?"

            "I couldn't sleep."  She answered, staring back out at the night.

            "Feeling sad again?"  The other pried.

            Millerna bowed her head and nodded, messing with the necklace. 

            Hitomi took interest in it.  "What is that?"

            Millerna looked up. "What?"

            "That necklace," she clarified, "I don't remember it."

            "Oh…"  Millerna looked flustered.  "This… this is…" She sighed heavily as she looked at the two bands of metal in her hands.  "Memoriam."

            "What?"  Hitomi asked, not understanding.

            "These are my remembrance charms."  She answered.  "They help me not to forget…the past…"

            Hitomi nodded realizing for herself what it meant. "Your sister Marlene and your father, right?"

            Millerna gave her a glance edgewise, then after an awkward stare, let her hands drop down.  "…right."

            Hitomi sighed.  "Yeah, I'm really sorry about that, Millerna."  She watched the landscape cloaked in moonlit darkness drift sleepily by.  "I mean, you are only a little older than I am, but you've been through so much more than me.  You seem like you could be three or four years older instead of just a couple months."

            "In a way."  She said, reaching back to the chain.

            "I used to think I had problems in my life."  Hitomi continued.  "With Allen and Van and Gaea and Atlantis: I figured I had a complicated life, but you, you've had your sister married off, die, your father die, and now you have to rule the entire country by yourself…"  She realized what she was reminding Millerna of.  "Oh! I'm sorry!  I didn't mean to make you depressed again."

            "No, you're right."  She said.  "I have grown up fast.  First it was trying to get Allen to notice me.  I tried to be mature for him.  Now its being queen…  I really wish…"  She paused and cast her eyes down.  "I wish I had a chance to feel like a teenager again."

            "Its not all that hot."  She answered.  "School and boyfriends and everything.  And it doesn't help that I feel like I belong here more than there."

            "We've all got our problems."

            Hitomi thought over all her friends and what she saw when they were connected together.  "There's the truth."  She let out a sigh and listened to the night around her.  In this peace, she felt a strange nagging feeling.  It was comparable to having someone looking over her shoulder, or hearing footsteps alone on a dark night.  She looked up and out behind the ship, where she thought it was coming from.  She looked close; as the Mystic Moonlit mountains rose, she could see several dark spots against the glow.  Intuition seemed to tell her…

            Guymelefs.

            A flash image to her dream:  Mech suits coming after her.  No rescue.  She sprung up, her eyes wide.

            Millerna looked to her.  "What is it?"

            "We're being followed!"  Hitomi fretted.  "Of course!  If Haman and Seguir were so set on keeping us there, there would be no way they wouldn't follow us!"  She had a sense of dread overwhelm her.  "They're probably going to shoot us down!  We've got to tell Allen!"  She took off in her stocking feet at a run, charging through the empty hangar as fast as she could.

            "Hitomi!  Wait!"  Millerna cried, taking off after her.  "I'm coming too!"

            The 15-year-old ran up the steps and down the halls, relying on her gut to figure out which way was the bridge.  She followed the noise of the crew until she saw the light of the door and charged in.  The six crewmen and Allen whirled around.  It was the captain who spoke, his long hair moving as he turned.  "Hitomi?"  The Queen of Asturia slid in behind her.  "Millerna?  What are you doing here?"

            "We're being followed!"  Hitomi panted.  "Melefs from Asturia!"

            "What?  How do you know?"

            "We were out back."  Hitomi answered.  "I saw them."

            Allen had been with Hitomi long enough to know not to question her intuition.  He called up through a hole in the ceiling.  "Reeden!?!  Do you see anything behind us up there?"

            "No boss" Reeden called down.

            Allen turned to her.  She was prepared to defend herself, but he asked a different question.  "How far away were they?"

            "A long ways.  I could barely make them out."  She answered.  "But I'm sure I saw them!  I know it!"

            "Look really close Reeden!  For Mech suits!"

            After a couple seconds, Reeden's voice ventured down again.  "There are maybe five!  They're following us, but way back!  I can't tell if they're gaining!"

            "They're going to bring us down!"  Hitomi cried.  "They don't want us to get to Fanelia!"

            "Gadess!?"  Allen cried.  "Are we armed?"

            Gadess turned to the other crewmen.  "Ort!?"

            "Don't look at me."  The rough man with the baldhead said. "Katz was in charge of restocking!  I'm just in charge of firing."  

            "Katz!?!"  Gadess pressured.

            Katz looked up.  "I knew you wanted armaments, so I ordered full battery, but they weren't supposed to arrive until tomorrow when I could install them!"

            "The irony is killing me."  Allen sighed, putting a gloved hand to his face.

            Gadess turned to him.  "We are defenseless."

            "The Scherazade is set."  Paile, the maintenance man, announced.  "You've got that, Boss!"      

            "That's good, but it can't fly."  Allen replied.  He turned to the helmsman.  "Kio!  Is there any place we can retreat to where they'd pass us by?"

            "We're hanging over the Asturia boarder.  If we take the mountain pass near Chesario, we can nip into a crack and stow out."  He replied.  "It will dock us half a day, though."

            "Do it."  Allen commanded.  "We can't afford to be caught now.  Too much is at stake."

            "Right sir."  Kio steered the Crusade toward the mountain walls on their left.  Millerna and Hitomi stood by as the ship groaned slowly with the turn.

            Allen listened to the walls and became concerned.  "What was that?  I thought you said we were about finished with reconstruction!  Are we going to fall apart!?"

            "Its probably just the mechanics sir!"  Paile called.  "New parts need wearing.  The Levi-Stone tethers especially.  I promise you, Boss, the hull is secure!"

            Allen seemed tired.  He leaned out over the upper railing.  "I've really got a bad feeling that something isn't right."

            Just then Teo, the seventh crewman dashed up from behind.  "Boss!  Boss!"  Allen whirled around, his stomach knotting.  Teo confirmed the worst.  "It's your sister, Boss!"

            "No, not now…" Allen said, running to the door.  Hitomi meant to follow but he turned.  "Continue on this course!  I'll return when I can!"

            "Allen!?!"  Hitomi cried.  "What's going on!?!"

            "Nevermind!"  He snapped.  "I'll take care of it!"  He and Teo left, the captain running through the halls to his private chamber.  "When'd it start!?!"

            "Just now!  She started screaming!"  Teo replied.  "You told me to tell you if anything happened!"

            "We'd better not be too late!"  As they neared, the girl's screaming could be heard bouncing off the metal walls and growing louder.  Allen arrived at the door, slid out the lock and kicked it open.  His sister was sitting in bed, shaking, her hands over her ears and tears on her cheeks.  Teo tarried in the doorway, confused.  Allen fell down next to the bed and threw his arms around her.  "Celena!"  She kept screaming and he yelled her name over her voice.  "Celena!!!  Celena!!!  You're all right!!!  It was a dream!!!  It was a bad dream!  Celena!!!  I'm here!!!  Its your brother!!!  You're safe now!  You're okay, calm down!  Come back!!!"

            She was being pulled close to him, struggling within herself to calm herself down and suppress the pain and stabbing in her head.  She took her hands from her ears and grabbed tightly to his uniform.  "Brother!?!"

            He ran his hand through her hair as she cried.  "I'm here, I've got you."

            She sobbed and screamed and he rocked her, comforting her and saying her name over and over.  Soon, she'd calmed back down, secure in his arms.  "I don't want to go back to sleep."

            "Okay."  He said.

            "I have terrible dreams."

            "I know, I know."  He said.  "You don't have to try now.  Stay up and get it out of your head."

            "Don't leave me…"

            He looked to Teo, who had no support to give.  Allen had to get back to the bridge, but he was worried about her, and didn't want to leave her alone when she didn't want him to.  He couldn't stay, but he could take her with him… The question was, would the stressful battle atmosphere be too much for her?  Would the sight of Guymelefs trigger another arrest?  There wasn't time to think this out, so he scooped her up and stood.  "Okay, you come with me, back up to the bridge."

            "Sir!?!"  Teo cried.

            Allen moved past him with his sister.  "Go prepare the room near the bridge.  Light the lamps, get it warm.  Make it friendly."

            "Friendly?"  Teo asked

            "Improvise."  Allen replied.

            Teo saluted.  "R-Right Boss!"  He dashed off.  Allen had to walk back with Celena in his arms.  The hallways were dark and lit by a candle here and there, or moonlight.

            Celena played with the pink scarf around his neck.  "I had the same dream…"

            "Shhh."  Allen bade.

            "I saw Melefs…and fire…"

            Allen boosted her up. "Shhh…don't think about it.  Don't stress yourself.  Just relax, I've got you and you're safe now."

*                             Escaflowne                                  *

            The bridge was paranoid.  Gadess would shout up to Reeden every couple minutes to see if anything had changed.  I hadn't, the Melefs were still coming with no deviation in course.  The waiting was exhausting for Hitomi, who hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep.  After a short time, Teo appeared from the hall.  "Miss Millerna and Hitomi… the boss wants you out here."

            "Allen?"  Millerna asked.  "How is his sister?"

            "That's why he wants you."  Teo said.  Hitomi and Millerna looked to each other, then exited the bridge and found the room where Allen had Celena set in a chair and was on one knee, talking to her.  The whole room was lit brightly so that no darkness remained in any corner.  The two girls stopped in the doorway, puzzled by the scene.  This was a map room made for charting navigational paths. Now the racks of rolled paper were shoved aside and the room was turned into an empty space lit by lamps brought from other places.  Allen caught sight of them in the doorway.

            "Okay, Celena," he said, "I've got to go next door."

            "No!"  Celena cried.

            "It'll be okay, Millerna and Hitomi are going to sit in here and be your friends while I'm gone.  I'll come back as soon as I can."  He patted her hand and stood up.  Her big blue eyes were scared at the thought of being left alone.  He tore himself away form them, rubbing her head.  He caught Hitomi and Millerna before he left. "Please stay here with her… she's not well."

            "What's the matter?"  Hitomi asked.

            Allen glanced to his sister and then back, speaking in hushed tones.  "She's suffering side effects from the fate Alteration experiments Dornkirk performed on her for all those years.  Now that she's back to herself, she has… attacks… where she gets headaches, spontaneous ones… and starts screaming.  She had one at dinner.  You remember."

            "Yes."  Millerna answered.

            "But –" he continued, " This is the most important thing.  She doesn't know what happened to her…"

            "You mean – " Hitomi began.

            "She doesn't remember that they turned her into Dilandau…" he scowled a little, "…and she doesn't remember anything about the time she spent as him."

            "You never told her!?!"  Hitomi cried.

            Allen shushed her. "No, it'd be the worst thing to do for her!"  He set to explain more.  "These relapses are triggered from what I call Dilandauic thoughts.  Fire, death, fighting: stuff that she doesn't understand fully, but Dilandau loved.  Thinking about stuff like that triggers her headaches."  He sighed.  "Whatever you do, don't ask her about what happened.  Don't ask her about dreams; don't ask her about the past.  Don't mention anything that happened while she was Dilandau."

            "What do you mean…" Millerna asked, but narrowed her query.  "How general is your Dilandauic thoughts?"

            "Lets just say, I haven't even shown her the Scherazade yet.  She doesn't know I have a Guymelef past the day she came back and saw me climb out of it.  Be EXTRA CAREFUL."

            "Alright."  Hitomi agreed.  "Don't worry, we've got it."

            Allen looked back to Celena, hesitated, and finally dashed next door to recover her post.  Hitomi looked to Millerna, for mutual support, then they turned to Celena, who resembled nothing less than a little puppy dog left outside in a thunderstorm.  Hitomi sat down next to her.  "Hi, Celena, I'm Hitomi.  I know your brother form a long time ago.  Did he tell you about me?"  Millerna slapped her.  "Yeeouch!  What?"

            "You're doing exactly what he told us not to!"  She hissed.  "Talking about the past and what happened while she was – "

            "SHHH!!!"  Hitomi cried.  Millerna threw her hands over her mouth.

            "My brother told me about you."  Celena said, quietly.  "Just today.  Before we left home.  He told me that you came from far away.  And when I asked if you were nice, he said that you always would remind him of me."  She got fearful tears in her eyes again.  "I want to go home."

            "This is like home."  Hitomi told her.  "It's your brother's ship."

            "He never told me he had a ship."  Celena said.

            "Why not?"  Hitomi asked.

            Celena balled up a little.  "I don't know."

            Millerna entered the conversation with a more maternal tone. "You love your brother don't you?"

            She nodded.

            "And he loves you very much."  Millerna grinned. "I can tell."

            Hitomi looked for emotion in Millerna's eyes but found her genuinely pleasant.  She seemed to be glad that Allen cared so much for Celena.  Celena seemed reassured.  "My brother looks out for me.  He said that he spent ten years trying to find me and when he did, he taught me all sorts of things I didn't know yet."

            "What kind of things?"  Millerna asked.

            Celena began to count on her fingers.  "He taught me how to act with people.  And he's teaching me to count by 3s.  He taught me about good food and bad food.  And he's teaching me how to read cursive!"

            "You are 16 and you don't know these things?"  Hitomi asked.

            "I don't remember anything about being lost."  She answered.  "I don't even remember how I got lost.  I remember seeing my brother ten years ago, then it was like I woke up again now.  The rest of the time…I must have been sleeping."

            "That's very interesting."  Millerna said to her.  "But you're okay, right?"

            She bowed her head.  "I'm okay.  My brother tells me I'm okay.  If he says its okay, then I know its really okay.  I don't feel okay, though."

            Next door, Allen was overseeing the bridge.  "Get me an approximation as to how far away those Melefs are!"

            "Mountains closing in!"  Kio reported.  "At this speed, we'll sneak behind that small one in twenty minutes."

            "Keep on that course."  Allen said.

            "Sir!"  Katz called.  "If we keep a t the is pace, there won't be enough fuel to get us to Fanelia."

            "Hold back on speed just enough so we can still get there."  Allen commanded.  "Urthas is surrounded by forests. WE can get more fuel for the burners there."  He turned up to the crows nest. "Reeden!?  I want that distance!"

            "Boss!  Get up here!"  Allen moved up the ladder to join his lookout above.  Reeden, a weedy little man with a red bandana on his head, was staring through a set of binoculars.  He turned and handed them to his captain. "Take a look at those, Boss."  Allen took the magnifiers and traced the dark for the Guymelefs.  Reeden explained to him what he was looking for.  "There's five of them.  Four are definitely those new Maginot they got back home.  They're blue and white when the moon hits 'em, and they've got those flight boosters King Aston put on 'em when he had 'em built after the war, but that green one… I've never seen a Melef like that before."  

            Allen found the strange mecha.  It was colored a sort of olive green that looked whitish in the moonlight.  Its head seemed like that of a suit of traditional armor, resembling the head of the knight's own Guymelef, and resembling more of a suit of personal armor than the regulation Asturian melefs did.  This strange machine's flight boosters extended from the hips and shoulders as great decorative arches glowing white.  A dark green cape was thrust about behind.  Allen studied it with bewilderment.  "What is that?"

            "Looks a lot like the Scherazade, doesn't it?"  Reeden suggested.  "If the Scherazade were snot colored."

            "It must be a private suit.  An antique maybe.  It reminds me of the kind of museum pieces we saw on Dryden's merchant ships."  He handed the binoculars back to Reeden.  "How far?"

            "Thirty minutes and gaining."  Reeden replied. 

            "That means they'll be nearly on top of us by the time we get to the Chesa-Asturian pass.  We're going to be cutting this close."

            Voices from below : "Boss!"

            Allen dashed own, his long blonde hair flying out behind him.  Before he could get a foot down, the airship gave a violent lurch that shook him from the ladder. He landed on his feet back in the bridge, barely, and braced himself against a wall. The ship listed deeply to the right.  Katz was looking up to him.  Allen was panicking a little.  So much was going on.  "What happened!?!"

            "Boiler Breech!"  Katz called.  "There's a steam leak on the right Levi-stone!  We're loosing lift and propeller thrust on the right side!"

            Allen cursed and shoved himself up the grade to the upper railing where he clung for balance.  "Can we stabilize it!?!"

            "We have to stop for serious repairs!" Paile called.

            "Can we recover the propeller!?!"  Allen demanded.

            "I'll do some patching!  It depends on the extent of the damage and where the breech is!" 

            "Get up there!"  Allen commanded.  "Take Katz and Teo.  Send Teo back when we have power restored!"

            "Right!"  The three of them took off.

            "We don't have enough people for all these problems!"  Allen fretted.

            "The ship was just rebuilt."  Ort said to him.  "The new parts aren't as broken in as it was, and there are always problems when you add new parts to old."

*                             Escaflowne                                        *

            Down below, the shaking and the listing threw some people off their cots.  Yosu was surprised to find himself on the floor.  Amano's cot tipped over and unseated Daiji like a domino.  Yukari had Koneko land on her from above.  Needless to say, everyone was awake and met in the hall, clinging to their doorframes to fight against the slant.

            "What the heck was that!?!"  Hakai cried.

            Suru was freaking out.  Yukari took her shoulder.  "Its okay, Suru."

            "I had a nightmare and when I woke up, there was an EARTHQUAKE!"  Suru whispered.

            "Its not an earthquake, Suru."  Amano assured.  "We're on an airship."

            "What should we do?"  Jiai asked, nervously.

            "I'm not going back to sleep."  Yosu announced.  "Something's gone wrong."

            Koneko looked around.  "Where'd Hitomi and Millerna go?"

            "Hiotmi's gone!?"  Yosu cried.

            "Things aren't right."  Amano announced.  "My gut's telling me something's wrong."

            "We should find out." Daiji stated.  "Let's get to the bridge.  We'll get answers there for sure."  They were all in agreement and made their way as best as they could on the slanting halls and stairs.  No one knew which way to go to find the cockpit, but Amano was plagued with hunches.  He took the lead and lead them fairly accurately to where they wanted to be.  Once they'd staggered inside, Amano looked around in disapproval.

            "What's going on!?!"

            Allen turned.  "What are you all doing here!?!"

            "We were woken up when the world started shaking."  Daiji said, with a stab of sarcasm. "Why do you think we're up here!?!"

            "What's wrong with the ship!?" Yosu demanded.

            Allen had no choice but to involve them, now.  "We've got a boiler breech to the right Levi-stone."

            "And that's not bad, right?" Yukari asked.

            "Well, we're also being followed by Melefs from Asturia."  Allen added.

            "We're being tailed AND we're having engine trouble!?"  Yosu cried.

            "It's not all as bad as it seems."  Allen assured.  "We're making our way toward a mountain pass where we can hide out until the Melefs pass us."

            "And how far is that?"  Daiji asked.

            "Another 15 minutes of flight a the speed we used to be at."  Kio called back.  "At our current state, if we can't get the propeller to work, it'll be another half an hour or more."

            "They're still gaining!"  Reeden called down.

            "This sounds pretty bad to me."  Daiji said.

            "Come on, Allen, don't sugarcoat it for us."  Amano said.  "We're on this ship, tell us what to do and get us out of this mess."

            Allen seemed hesitant to get his passengers involved.  Especially since they didn't know Gaean technology.  Ort spoke up.  "You were complaining about not having people, Boss."

            The captain gave in.  "Alright!  Fine!  If all of you are so intent – you can help out."  He turned to Kio.  "Where do we need help most!?!  The engine room?"

            "Patching."  Kio responded.  "They'll need hands and probably muscle."

            Daiji volunteered.  "I'll do it."

            "Daiji?"  Jiai asked.

            "I'll admit that I don't usually do my own heavy labor, but I've got the body mass."  He cracked his knuckles.  "which way?"

            "Down the adjacent hall and toward the stern."  Allen instructed.  Daiji nodded and split.

            Amano stepped forward.  "What about me?"    

            Allen looked around the bridge.  "Katz and Paile are gone…"  He grabbed Yosu's shoulder.  "You take Katz's spot there.  And Amano, take Paile's."

            "What do I do?"  Yosu asked, taking up the post.

            "That 's monitoring stability.  And the boilers."  Allen said.  "Its obvious that we're tiled.  Check the gimbals and tell me if it gets any better or worse."            

            "That's it?"  Yosu asked.

            "Well, you've got to watch the pressure too."  Allen said.  He turned to Amano.  "You've got to keep those schematics handy and report on ship performance."

            "How on earth am I supposed to do that!?!"

            "Do the best you can!"  Allen commanded.  There were five left, but it didn't look like Allen had any intention of giving them a job.

            Yukari frowned from where she was leaning against the door.  "Hey!  What about us?"

            "You?"  Allen asked, astounded that she was being so mean.  "You can go next door with Hitomi and Millerna and take care of Celena."

            "Is that what you need us to do?"  Jiai asked.

            "I don't believe it."  Yukari challenged.  "I don't think in a time of crisis like this, you need five of us to sit around."

            "This is a crisis!"  Allen shot back.  "You don't need to be involved."

            "Stop with the chivalrous knight and damsel thing."  Yukari insisted.  "I can see you need help and I'm sticking around."

            Amano's voice ran in very un-Allen-like.  "Yu!?!  I'm lost!"  He was flipping through schematics and looking at gauges in complete bewilderment.

            "See!  I have a purpose!"  Yukari hurried as fast as she could to over to help her boyfriend.

            "BOSS!!!"  Reeden cried.  "They're REALLY close now!  Do you think you can do something about the tilt!?!"

            "We've got to get into action."  Allen said.  "When are they going to get the ship leveled out!?!"

            "I'll run up and ask!"  Koneko volunteered, dashing off.

            Jiai turned to Suru and Hakai.  "Let's go next door and get out of their hair… hurry!"

            "Whatever."  Hakai huffed, but the three of them vacated the bridge and moved to join Millerna and Hitomi, who were now on the floor with Celena, who'd been thrown from her chair in the jolt.  She was sobbing loudly.

            Hitomi looked up.  "Jiai!"

            "We're here to help out!"  The dark-haired girl replied.

Suru was as frightened as Celena, but became concerned at the sight of her.  "Is she okay?"

            "She's scared."  Millerna answered.

            "Why?"  Hakai asked.  "So we're being followed by someone, what's the big deal?"

            Hitomi looked with alarm at the spiky-haired boy.  "What's he doing here!?!"

            "Why shouldn't he be here?"  Jiai asked.

            "Don't you know who he's connected to!?!"  She demanded.  But she realized, then that Jiai knew next to nothing about Celena's case, and thankfully, the look on her face showed that she couldn't recall Dilandau's name to save her life.  Hitomi let it drop.  "Never mind…just keep an eye on him."  The 12-year-old dashed around, trying to fill his time.

            Suru knelt down next to Celena.  "You don't have to cry, Celena, it'll be okay."  She reached into her jean pocket and pulled out the pieces of her doll.  "Do you want to play with me?"

            Celena looked up with tears in her eyes.  "I'm so scared…the ship moved so suddenly…we're falling sideways."

            "No we're not."  Suru answered.  "Let's play.  You can be the face.  I'll be the body.  And…you can be the feet too…. Is that okay?"

            Celena sniffled and took the doll's head from Suru.  "Okay."

            Hitomi and Millerna looked to each other.

                        *                           Escaflowne                              *

            Reeden's head appeared on the bridge.  "I can see the cape on the front one!  This is getting really sweaty!"

            "I know, Reeden, I know!"  Allen shot back.

            "We've gained some altitude on the right!"  Yosu called.  "Three points!  It's small, but its an improvement.  Levi-stone pressure pretty constant."

            "The mountains are still a ways off!"  Kio announced.  "I've been trying to catch a wind on the right said, but we're dead wind tonight."

            "Do the approaching melefs have weapons?"  Gadess asked.

            "If they are standard Asturian Maginot, they should be equipped with swords, but if they are infantry style…" Allen answered.  "Reeden!  Go see!"

            "I'm on it!"  Reeden replied, disappearing.  He came back in a minute.  "It looks like a sword on the snot one.  The others, I can't tell with their flight boosters out."

            "I might have to run for the Scherazade before this is over."  Allen announced.  He turned to Yosu.  "Any more improvement?"

            "No."  Yosu replied.  "but it might be going so slow…"

            "What's going on back there!?!"  Allen was frustrated and kept checking the door for Teo or Koneko to return.

                        *                           Escaflowne                              *

            Koneko arrived in the boiler room to find it thick with humidity and lit red from the fires used to heat the water.  She could see in the glow, three men heaving, muscles straining, on a loose metal plank that seemed to be bowing straight out over a gaping hole in the side of a tank.  Hot steam was pouring out over them in billowy clouds as they bent it around.  She stood and stared at them.  Teo the smallest and weakest of them, was leaned against the boiler at the plank's base, securing the part already nailed into the metal.  Koneko knew that one of the others was Daiji, but it took his ponytail to identify him.  He'd taken off the red shirt and was just in his white tee.  He and Katz were sooty and sweaty.  Paile stood ready with his nails and a hammer.  Koneko had forgotten about Daiji's celebrity, but watching him work like this was strange.  It took her a second to speak up.  "H-Hey!  Dudes!?!  How's it going !?"

            "Jus'second, Neko!"  Daiji replied, his teeth gritted.

            Katz let out a grunt.  "Shove three!  "On, two, THREE!!!"  They fought against the steam pouring out of the hole and bent the patch over the rift.  

            Daiji braced his back against the plank.  "Paile!"  Paile jumped in and started tacking it down.  The other two shoved against the plank as hard as they could.  Their feet slipping on the moistness and humidified metal of the floor.

            The plank was threatening to give out, Katz turned a shoulder to it and steadied it as Paile hammered.  "No!  Not this time, you stupid boiler!"  

The last couple nails went in.  Paile backed off.  "Go!"

            The two big boys jumped off the boiler and grabbed another slab of metal.  Holding it up, Paile edged in to nail the patch over the patch.  The ship groaned and tilted upward a little more, making the pigtailed girl dizzy.  She grabbed onto a pipe until the ground stopped moving.  "Yeeeow!"

            They took a nervous second and stared at it to see if it would stay.  When it showed no signs of popping off, they all sighed.  Daiji rubbed his shoulder and walked over.  "What is it, Koneko?"

            "I came as a messenger."  She said.  "I need to check and see how its coming."

            "We've got fifty percent lift."  Paile reported.  "We've got to check the propeller."

            Daiji turned his green eyes to look down at her again.  "Run down and tell the captain that we're half power again."

            Katz's voice called.  "Daiji!"

            He turned.  "Coming!"  Then sent Koneko away.  "Go on, we'll send the squirrelly guy with the propeller news."

            "K!"  Koneko turned and darted off, running a lot easier without the hallway at such a dramatic slant.  She arrived on the bridge.  "Daiji says we're half better."

            "So the breech wasn't crippling!?"  Allen asked.

            "I guess not."  She replied.  "He said they'd send the squirrelly guy with info on the propeller."        

            "The gimbals tell me that we're a little over halfway level."  Yosu called.

            "If they patched it up so fast, it probably was one of the auxiliary boilers."  Yukari announced, pulling out the chart.  "That should blow a couple pipe rings too because of the temperature flux."

            "Levi-stone pressure is increasing."  Amano called.  "But there isn't enough steam running the propeller mechanics."

            "Pipe rings."  Yukari repeated.  "And it says here that those can be patched, but will need to be replaced when we get to a port."

            "Write that down."  Allen said.  "Keep a list of everything needing replacement or professional repair."  Another violent tremor took them all by surprise and sent them staggering against their stations.  Allen looked frayed.  "What was that!?!"  He ran to the crow's nest.  "Reeden!?  Are they firing?"

            "No!"

            "It was probably the pipe rings she was talking about."  Gadess offered.

            "Would they cause a lurch like that?"  Yosu asked.

            "Pipe rings are what keep pipes together."  Allen answered.  "I guess it depends on what they are connecting."

                        *                           Escaflowne                              *

            Across the hall, the jolt had sent a lamp off a table and fire had started on the floor.  Millerna and Hitomi looked up in alarm.  Hitomi covered Celena's eyes.  "Jiai!  Put it out!"

            "No!"  Hakai cried.  He dashed over to marvel. "It's great!"

            "It's not great!"  Millerna informed him.  "Put it out now!"

            "I'm scared!"  Celena cried.  "What's going on!?" 

            "My brother is playing."  Suru answered.  "Don't mind him."

            "I can't see, Hitomi."  Celena said.  "Let me go, you're scaring me."     

            Millerna got up and she and Jiai began to stomp out the flame.  Hakai was shoved aside and watched the floor as his entertainment was smothered. "Ugg!  DANGIT!!!  I HATE YOU!"  Hitomi saw everything was clear and released the girl from blindness.  Celena rubbed her eyes.  "What's going on?"

            "They ruined my only chance at having fun."  Hakai replied.  "This place hates me.  I should run off and then I can have some real fun!"

            "No!  Hakai!"  Suru cried.  "You can't leave!  What would I do?"

            Hakai glanced back at her eyes, which were worried in her innocently childish way.  He snuffed a sigh.  "Ah, going home would only bring Mom into it anyway."

            Up in the boiler room, a pipe ring had burst on the piping to the propeller.  Steam was again billowing out over the floor, coming from the loose pipe.  Paile looked over the scene.  "Drat!  We've lost a ring!  We can't replace those fast!"

            "What do we do?"  Katz cried.

            "We'll patch the ring like we did the boiler."  Paile said, finding the two pieces amid the clouds of cooling air.  "It snapped cleanly in half.  You two boost the loose pipe up so we don't lose the one on the other end."

            They got their shoulders under the piping and shoved it upright.  Teo came around one side and held the two pieces of the ring together.  Searing hot smoke was flowing out everywhere.  Daiji made a general query.  "I hope this doesn't burn us."

            "Burns are the least of our problems."  Paile said as he prepared to hammer.  "If we get boarded, we'll be arrested, thrown in jail, and who knows what else.  That exit we made wasn't exactly legal, and as far as they know, we've kidnapped the queen."

            "Good point."  Daiji agreed.  A decent patch went on with hammering.  Paile backed off and wiped his brow, but as he did, the nails began to pop out under the pressure of the expanding air inside.  Everybody jumped forward to cover the remaining nail heads, but eh steam spouting out burned their hands and they drew back just as fast.  "Yeeeouch!"  Daiji blew on his palms.  "That stings."

            "What do we do?"  Katz asked again.

            "I don't suppose you all keep duct tape around?"  Daiji asked rhetorically.

            "Can we wrap it?"  Teo asked.

            "Just what I was thinking."  Daiji grinned to him.

            "We've got some heavy tarp in the back."  Katz offered.  "I'll go get it."

            "Meanwhile, watch for flying nails, they must be like bullets."  Daiji said, kissing his raw hand.  "That really smarts."

            Katz returned in a second with the tarp and rope.  Paile took it from him.  "Alright, now, I'm going to hammer in some new nails and as soon as I'm done, wrap it as tight as you can."  The others nodded and Paile moved to cap the hiss of the steam.  He pounded quickly, half expecting them to shoot out at him as soon as he let go.  In a second, he jumped back and the other three rushed in to wrap the binding tightly around the ring.  Teo tied it with the rope and they all stepped back and hoped that it would hold.  There was some hissing and popping, but the tarp caught the nails and for the most part contained the steam, keeping the tacks in the holes.  Down the way, the gears to the dead propeller started to churn with a clanking that elevated to a steady banging.  They let out a cheer.

                        *                           Escaflowne                              *

            "Propeller steam pressure rising!"  Amano called.  "I think they fixed it!"

            "Thank goodness."  Allen sighed.

            "There seems to be a dip in the hillside ahead that we can settle into."  Gadess informed them.  "We'll hope they don't see us do it."

            "How far are those melefs?"  Yosu asked.

            Allen turned up the ladder to his lookout.  "Reeden!?!"

            "They're getting closer!  If we don't pick up soon, in five minutes they'll be right on top of us!"

            Teo arrived, sweaty, sooty, and panting in the doorway.  "Propeller at 45%, sir!"

            "Forty-Five!?!"  Koneko cried from over with Yosu.  "THAT's it!?!"

            "It'll do."  Allen told her.  "Kio!  Get us to that first mountain and set us in that nook."

            "Aye Aye sir!"

            With Levi-stone and propeller once again functioning, the Crusade coasted through the sky on dead wind.  Behind them, five Asturian mecha suits were keeping pace.  There were no weapons drawn, and the olive colored ringleader stayed passive in front, its cape billowing.  Everyone in the cockpit of the Crusade held their breaths.  Time was of the essence.  It was almost as if they could feel the Melefs on their tail, breathing down their necks and ready to bring them to the ground.  The first mountain jutted out of the Chesa-Asturain mountain pass, the only one with trees while all the hills behind it were gray-purple stone.  The chink in the mountain cut around the back, out of sight, leaving a wind-swept hole sticking from the side.  They steered for it

            "We're going maximum speed!"  Kio called.

            "We'll make it!"  Gadess assured.  "Just keep going!  Hold on!"

            "Boiler warning!"  Yosu cried.  "We're running low on fuel!  This says the fires are dimming!"

            "Strain on it!"  Allen commanded.  "We only have one chance!"

            The ship reached the mountain and tucked around the back to peek out of the handle-like absence.  Kio brought the ship to a stop.  It sat there, tilted to one side, waiting to see if their hasty escape would work.  Everyone's hearts were pounding.  Minds turning over the many outcomes; would they get away?  Would they be captured?  Would they be killed?  Reeden didn't even dare to blink as he stared through his binoculars, waiting for a sign of their pursuers to appear around the wall of the mountain.

            Five minutes passed this way, but no Guymelefs appeared.

            Allen turned and called a little hoarsely up.  "Do you see them!?!"

            Reeden scanned anxiously, knowing that they should have appeared by then.  He checked quickly behind and around him, feeling like he could be surrounded.

            "REEDEN!?!"

            "I don't see them!"  Reeden called down.  "They're nowhere!"

            Allen looked to Gadess, who shook his head, unable to offer answers.  Allen turned back.  "Are you sure!?!"

            Reeden scanned again, looking out under the arm of the mountain.  "Wait!"  Everyone below stared and strained to hear news.  Reeden's scrawny voice called to them.  "There they are!  They went back to the old course!  They're headed for Fanelia!"

            Allen frowned.  "You're sure!?"

            "Positive!  They're taking the direct route.  The green one is leading."

            "We're safe!"  Yukari sighed.  "We're not going to get caught!  Oh what a relief."

            "Why?"  Allen puzzled, a hand on his chin.  "WHY?  Why'd they pass us up when they knew we were here?"

            "We'll figure it out later."  Amano suggested.  "Right now we've got a small amount of fuel and a lot of repairs to make."

            "Right."  Allen agreed.

            "We could really follow them now."  Gadess offered.  "They won't be chasing us."

            "But they're from Asturia."  Allen replied.  "We won't be able to get help in Fanelia if they get their first.  And there is no way we can beat them now."  HE called to his pilot.  "Kio!  Take us on through the pass!  Maybe we can hit a Chesarian docking station and get some aid and supplies."

            "Right sir."  Kio agreed.

            Koneko yawned.  "And the rest of us can go back to sleep."

To be Continued….


	7. Episode 7: Readiness

Escaflowne:   Mirrors 

Episode 7:  Readiness

            Afternoon sunlight warmed every hall of the ship.  Outside, the gray-purple mountains had turned red-violet with the arrival of day.  The Crusade sat docked on a wall-mounted port called Apiobathra that was built into the Chesarian mountain range called Adynaton which would continue north to boarder both Fanelia and Deidlas.  The ship and its rebels had just barely limped over the Asturian boarder, and now the crewmen, and many Chesarian workers, were laboring in the boiler room to replace or repair all the cheap and broken parts in the works.  Coal was being unloaded into the appropriate cavity to provide boiler fuel.  Allen was talking with the head foreman.

            "This repair job wasn't suitable for flying."  The foreman said.  "Why'd you take off with it looking like this!?"

            "We were in a hurry."  Allen answered. "We didn't have time to go over the details."

            "Well, you should have."  The Chesarian hissed under his black mustache.   "I'm surprised I isn't worse than it is!"

            "Well, we can't do anything now but fix it."  The blond replied.  "Just make sure you do a good job of it."

            "Where should I bill you?"  He asked.  "I expect you can't pay up front."

            "I'm afraid I cant.  Send it to my home.  I'll write you the address."

            "That was terrible!"  Jiai cried.  She, Hitomi, and Yukari were standing around watching the repairs with Daiji and Gadess.  The Brown-headed Earther put his hands in his khaki pockets, washed up form the crisis.

            "Yeah, it was crazy.  Things were popping out everywhere….steam a foot thick on the floor…a real mess."

            "I'm impressed."  Hitomi smiled at him.  "I had no idea a representative's son could pull something off like this."

            He shrugged and looked flattered.  "Aw, it was nothing.  I had the other three helping, and besides, I've messed with the insides of my car before."

            "There is no way we would have survived without you, Katz, and Paile up here."  Gadess said. "Although, I can't ignore the work of the people on the bridge.  You Lunar persons certainly pick stuff up fast."

            "Gee thanks."  Yukari blushed, jovially.  "But please, I'm an honor student, it was nothing."

            Daiji chuckled, recognizing the joke she was making.

            Gadess turned and watched Allen in his negotiations.  "The boss held it together well, too.  He's got a lot of stress going, but he was as professional as ever.  I appreciate it when he's here.  Me alone over this crew can get pretty rough."

            Daiji studied Gadess quickly.  "You know, you remind me of my friend Rick."   

            "Was that the one you were talking to on the phone?"  Hitomi asked.

            "You mean in that bookstore?"  Jiai asked, also.

            "Probably."  Daiji answered.  "He's my stockbroker, but he's one of my best pals, too.  You're just like him.  He can run all the decisions on his own and be completely cool about it, but he'd rather call and ask me because he knows I'd do a good job, too.  Two heads are better than one."

            "Who came up with that saying?"  Yukari asked.  "I'd like to know.  Whenever anyone says sit, I think of a two-headed monster."

            "What does that have to do with anything?" Hitomi asked, one eyebrow quirking.

            Yukari shrugged.  "I dunno… two heads – "

            Allen stepped up to them rubbing his temples.  "What a headache.  Not only did we have to deal with this morning, but the repairs are even more complicated and the bill is incredible."

            "I'm sure Millerna would help pick it up."  Jiai told him.

            "I'm trying not to let anyone know the Queen is here."  Allen answered.  "We're rebels, remember?  I don't want to give us away to the world entirely if we can help it."

            "We're supposed to be meeting up now."  Hitomi said, checking her watch.  "To decide on a plan of rescue." 

            "Where?"  Allen asked.

            "The room we had Celena in." Jiai answered.   "It's all cleared out now, we might as well use it."

            "Alright."  Allen agreed.  "Gadess, would you stay here and oversee everything?  I need to devote my entire attention to this."

            "Don't worry, boss," Gadess assured, "I'll keep 'em in line."

            Convinced that his ship was well looked after, the knight and his fellows went up to the meeting room.  There, al the Lunar representatives, the Queen, and Allen's little sister were waiting.  Hitomi stepped out from behind him.  "Is everyone here?"

            There were nods.  Two tables had been pushed together and set in the middle of the room so that everyone could sit around it.  Millerna was at the head in the middle of the far end.  Amano was on her right and Yosu was on her left.  Allen's counterpart had his two cousins, Hakai and Suru sitting down the side of the table nearest him with Celena in the middle.  Koneko was at the edge of the nearside next to Suru.  Hitomi moved over and sat next to Yosu.  He cast her a look and swallowed a lump of emotion that was threatening to squelch his voice.  Jiai and Yukari sat next to her.  Daiji sat on the other side of the corner on Yukari's left.  Allen took the center between he and Koneko.  There was silence for a moment as everyone faced each other.  Millerna began formally, as if she were conducting a royal debate.  "So we are gathered to discuss a means of infiltration and recovery.  We need a plan that will grant us quick, secret access to the castle and a swift escape afterwards."

            "So we'll probably have to escape by night."  Allen stated.  "That way, our entrance and exit will be hidden."

            "But it wont' be night inside."  Jiai said.

            "Let's save the timing to when we actually GET there."  Amano suggested.  "Let's work on what we're going to do once we're inside."

            "You've forgotten about GETTING inside."  Yukari corrected him.  "First thing's first."

            "Now I'm just confused."  Yosu announced.  "We're having trouble on where we need to start with this.  Lets just get a frame down.  We'll need two groups, right?  One for Van, one for Merle?"

            "That's probably a good start."  Millerna told him.

            "No, that provides no security."  Allen said.  "We need three parties."

            "Three?"  Koneko asked.  "For what?"

            "One for a diversion."  Allen answered.  "If we can keep the guards and the imposter Hitomi distracted, we'll have a better chance of getting out cleanly."

            "Okay, I get it."  Yosu said.  "Three groups.  And there are how many of us?"  He counted in his head.  "Twelve?  That's four per group."

            "Not so fast."  Amano interrupted.  "I don't think all of us can do this.  Some will have to stay behind."

            "Why?"  Hitomi asked.

            "I see his point."  Allen agreed.  "Taking into account who we've got on board, if we show up with the Queen, they'll know who we are immediately, and the Maginot there will arrest us on the spot.  Plus I'm not letting Celena go in."

            "I don't want to go."  Suru spoke up.

            "There's something else."  Yukari nodded to Suru.  "The twins would just get in the way."

            "HEY!"  Hakai cried.

            "Second."  Amano agreed.

            Hakai crossed his arms and fumed.  "Nazis"

            "So that's four out."  Daiji finalized.

            "I don't think Hitomi should go either."  Allen announced.

            Hitomi jumped to her feet.  "WHAT!?!"

            "They'll know who you are!"  Allen replied.  "You're famous like Millerna!  You might jeopardize everything!"

            "There is no way you're excluding me!"  Hitomi cried.  "I'm coming!  This is my project!  You need me!"

            "I don't know about this whole 'project' thing," Daiji said, "but under that premise, you shouldn't go either."  He was looking at Allen.

            Allen looked appalled.  "You can't be serious!"

            "No, he's right."  Millerna said.  "You are as famous by face as I am.  They could identify you from the back.   You should remain on the ship and look out for the mission from there."

            "I refuse!  No way!"  Allen cried.

            "Com on, Allen, swallow your pride."  Yukari charged.  "You know that's how it's gotta be."      

            Allen looked to her and backed off.  Her eyes and her voice made something in his memory replace his defense and he sat back down.  "Alright, lets continue."

            "How would we go about a diversion?"  Jiai asked.  "We would have to do something really big to get everyone involved."

            "Or we could infiltrate it undercover."  Koneko suggested.  "Just like on TV, we could get in costume and go in under an alias!"

            "That's really not a bad idea."  Amano said.  "We could have a party appear to be some sort of despot or something come to seek an audience with King Van.  That way, security will be concentrated around them and the rest of us can sneak in."

            "Is someone taking notes?"  Jiai asked.  "Maybe we should write this down."

            "I'll take care of it."  Millerna volunteered.  She got up to retrieve supplies.

            Yosu, thinking logically as always, asked, "do we have a map or something or are we just going to have to find our way in?"

            "Duvera can get us one."  Allen answered.

            "Duvera?"  Hitomi asked.

            "Oh!"  Yukari understood.  "Your friend you were talking about at dinner."

            "That's right."  Allen answered.  "Duvera Hoden is second in command out there."

            "Second!  Wow!"  Daiji gawked.  "And he'll help us out?  I mean, he's not scared of losing his position?"

            "Don't worry."  Millerna assured, returning.  "I'm the Queen!  He's in no danger of losing his job if he's obeying my orders."

            "Oh yeah."  Hitomi grinned.  "I keep thinking that you're a princess still."

            "Okay."  Millerna set a piece of paper down on the table and got out a crude pencil.  "We've three parties: the diversion team, the Van team, and the Merle team."

            "Who's on which team?"  Koneko asked.

            "List."  Millerna began writing all she could. "Me, Celena, Suru, Hakai, Hitomi and Allen are staying behind."

            "No!"  Hitomi cried.  "I'm going. You guys need me."

            "You'll endanger the mission."  Allen insisted.

            "But through me, we can find out where people are!"  She said.  "I can connect Yosu or Koneko to Van and Merle and they can give us hints to where they are in the castle and what they are doing."

            "That's a good strategy," Daiji agreed, "We get somewhat of a head start that way."

            "Okay, Hitomi, you should come."  Amano said.  Allen pouted in silence.

            Millerna crossed Hitomi off the 'stay behind' list and looked up.  "Well, if Hitomi does go, where would be the best place to put her?  She still endangers the mission after all."

            "She can't be on the diversion team."  Yosu stated.  "They'll see her and know something's up, since there's that fake one running around."

            "We shouldn't stick her on the 'Van Napping' team then, either."  Amano added.  "Because if Van sees two of her, he might make a scene."  Hitomi was crestfallen as everyone agreed.

            "Okay, so Hitomi goes on the Merle team."  Millerna said, writing her in.  "Now where should everyone else go?"

            "These are going to small parties."  Yukari said, concerned.

            "Well, Gadess will be there.  We're taking the Crusade so we'll have him and the crew."  Allen said, still slightly put off because he wasn't included.

            "Gadess will certainly help."  Jiai agreed.  "He's  got knowledge of the customs, plus a lot of muscle on him…"

            "Jiai!?!"  Hitomi cried, amused.

            Jiai blushed and shot her eyes to Amano, then to Daiji.  "Well, I…"

            "No, that's a good point in itself."  Yosu said.  "Gadess would be a good member of the Van team, in case he puts up a fight."

            Hitomi was appalled.  "A fight!?  I'm sure he wouldn't – "

            "Just in case."  Yosu assured her.

            "Okay," Millerna continued, "so Gadess is on the Van team, who else?"

            "Daiji or Amano," Yukari suggested, "I don't think any of the girls would help in convincing Van to leave his country."

            "Yeah, he'll be skeptical if girls try and get him to do anything."  Koneko agreed.

            "How would you know?"  Hitomi asked, offended by the way they all were talking about Van when none of them knew him.

            Koneko pointed to Yosu.  "I live with him!  He and Van are exactly alike, right?"

            "You know, we could use that."  Daiji said.  "Van's in control of the whole palace.  What better way to get stuff done in a hurry than to have a Van body double who looks exactly like him and has his voice?"

            "But Van has black hair."  Hitomi said.

            "Get him a wig."  Daiji answered.

            "That would be great to get us inside."  Amano grinned.  "No one will ask questions if we've got the king with us."

            "But we can't take Van into the throne room to meet Van."  Jiai stated.  "That would be an obvious fraud."

            "So Yosu dressed as Van is on the Merle team?"   Millerna asked.

            "Perfect."  Allen announced.  "There'd be no way we could break her out of a stone cell with metal bars.  We'd need a key.  And we could either lift one off a guard or have it handed to us through Yosu!  That's excellent."

            "So who's with Yosu and Hitomi?"  Amano asked.

            "I'll go!"  Koneko volunteered energetically, her hand waving in the air like an anxious student with the right answer.  "I want to!  Pick me!"

            "Okay."  Millerna smiled, laughing to herself. "You can be on the Merle team, too."

            Koneko pumped her fist in victory. "Yes!"

            "And Hitomi should close out the Merle team."  Yukari said.  "We don't need any more than three.  Now we need to place the other two teams."

            "My thoughts exactly."  Millerna said, starting up a new list.

            "Gadess is on the Van team, and we need another boy."  Jiai recalled. "So either Daiji or Amano.  Maybe both."

            "No, we should make the despot male too."  Allen corrected.  "They'd cut a better image and it would be less of an acting job for whoever's involved."

            "So we ask again," Yukari repeated, "Daiji or Amano?"

            "If no one would mind, I'd like to take it."  Daiji said.

            "Are you sure?"  Jiai asked.

            "Well, I think I'm probably the only one going who's qualified for the role."  He said.  "My father is a state representative.  Just living with the guy has taught me how to talk like him.  Plus, we've all gotten a taste of Amano's acting job…"

            "Hey, it wasn't that bad."  Amano defended, remembering the conversation with the gatekeeper the night before.

            Daiji mocked him.  "Oh, and Allen promised to give us a tour…oh my goodness."

            "Shut up, would you."  Amano said, reddening.  Daiji chuckled.

            Millerna's cheeks were rosy watching them; she shook herself out of her daze and got back to work.  "Okay, so Daiji's the diversion team and Amano's the Van team."

            "He and Gadess are all we'll probably need on the Van team."  Yosu said.

            "It's all we can have if we're going for all males."  Hitomi observed.  "And that would place Yukari and Jiai with Daiji."

            "Good.  We've got that straightened out."  Allen said.  "What else do we need to do?"

            "How's it going to play?"  Millerna asked.

            "Well, I expect we enter from separate sides of the castle; the diversion team from one side and the other two from the other."  Allen said.  "But we can't make any real plans until we have a map of the inside."

            "You realize this is going to be a heavily costumed operation…" Yosu said, "we're going to have to disguise everyone involved.  We're going to have to disguise the ship because they know what it looks like.  And we're going to have to maybe disguise Van and Merle.  If you think about it, getting them out is going to be just as difficult if not more so than getting us in."

            Allen put a hand to his chin. "We don't have those kind of supplies on board the Crusade.  I don't know where we would find them."

            "We might have to change the whole thing to a smash and grab job."  Amano stated.

            "Please no."  Jiai said.

            Just then, Gadess stepped in.  "The repairmen are leaving, now, sir."

            "Gadess, do you know if the crew have any useful clothing or something we could use to make costumes out of?"  Allen asked.

            "Costumes?"  Gadess asked.  "Our crew?  I highly doubt it."

            "I figured as much…" Allen sighed.

            "But…" Gadess continued.  Twelve heads snapped around to face him.  He took a start, but recovered to finish before they got violent.  "But my cousin Philos lives in Chesario not far from here.  We can see if he can help us."

            "I didn't know you had family in Chesario."  Allen seemed amazed.  "And you really think he could help us?"

            "Philos and I always got on well.  We sort of lost touch when he moved to Kataphygio, but I'm sure he would help if I asked him."  Gadess assured.

            Allen got to his feet.  "Take us there."

                        *                           Escaflowne                              *

            "Van, I've got to go meet a friend."  The young girl said, rising form her seat on the steps.

            The king looked up from his throne.  He was sitting sideways across it as always.  "Who?"

            "He's just a friend."  She answered with Hitomi's voice.  "You don't have to be jealous."

            "Who said I was jealous?" Van answered.  "I just want to know where you're going."

            She turned and smiled at him, her large sparkling green eyes warm and her light red-brown hair moving at mid-back level.  "I'm staying in town.  I'll be back by dinner."

            "I didn't know you knew anyone around here, Hitomi."  Van said, righting  himself and leaning forward.

            She turned completely, her Fanelian dress moving behind her.  She reached up to her chest and showed him his pink Atlantican pendant.  "I can't forget you, Van.  I've got you with me always as long as I have this.  I'll be gone for the afternoon, then I will be right back, I promise."

            He studied her through his disheveled black bangs.  "Alright, Hitomi, whatever you want.  I trust you."

            "Thank you, Van, that means a lot to me."  She turned and headed out the throne room doors.  The Fanelian royal guards stood at attention as they watched her pass.  She'd been living at the palace for nearly a month and they'd come to accept her as a sight as common in the Urthras castle halls as the family portraits and high-mounted wall lanterns.  She headed through many halls of stained wooden paneling and long red carpeting to the armory where the newly arrived Guymelefs from Asturia were freshly docked and unloading their occupants.  She passed without looking in, but if she had, she would have seen the green knight melef kneeling on one knee.  A hiss of steam was released from the cabin entrance and the decorative spade-like seals folded off the chest, allowing the front of the armor to fold open.  With the cockpit hatch open, Captain of the guard, Asturia, Seguir Nadeje, emerged upon Fanelian soil.  He moved down to the ground, stately in his deep green, sleeveless over-shirt with double shoulder clasps and a puffed Asturian shirt the color of his Melef.  The captain of the guard, Fanelia saluted him.  "Nadeje."

            "Gambero."  Seguir saluted back.  "These men and their Maginot are at your disposal.  I've been sent by Sir Haman with tidings."

            "Haman and not the Queen?"  Gambero asked, formally.

            "Sir Haman has become acting head of Asturia.  Queen Millerna is incapable at this time."  He answered, seamlessly.

            "I'm so sorry to hear that."  Gambero responded and saluted again.  "then I am sure you mean to return as soon as possible.  I welcome you as our guest in the name of King Van Slanzar de Fanel."

            "Thank you sir, much appreciated."  Seguir gave a final salute and exited.  He, like the young girl, also had a meeting to get to and followed the same hall as she had moments before.  There was an empty hangar that had been closed off for maintenance.  He entered without a thought and once inside heard a smooth and eerily pleasant voice speaking.  The voice belonged to a man in a Zaibachian-style black cloak, he was young, maybe thirty, with iron-black hair and piercing eyes.  He was speaking tot eh girl who was kneeling before him, his voice very soothing but at the same time menacing, like a snake charming a victim into its coils.

            "You know that you are the most important part of this plan, Youth, while you haven't failed yet, the Master does not appreciate your tarry here."

            "Yes sir."  She answered.

            "Use my name, Youth," he said, "I will tell your mind by the tone in your voice."

            "Yes, Sir Trapan."  She repeated. Her voice was steady, and a greasy smile slithered across his face.

            "That is fine, Youth.  You are doing well.  I assure you the Master is pleased."

            Seguir moved into the light of the audience, two Zaibachian guardsmen leveled their halberds to him in reaction, but Trapan waved a hand.  "Ah, well look who it is!  The Hero!  Seguir Nadeje has arrived at last."

            The girl spun around, her face lit with hope, and at sight of him, joy.  He smiled to her with a trembling lip as he stared into her fourteen-year-old green eyes.

            "Youth!  Pay him no mind!"  Trapan ordered.  She spun quickly away and back to her knee.  

Her voice wasn't nearly as steadfast, and tremored as her heart beat and she repeated.  "Yes, Sir Trapan."  She stared at the floor, but it was obvious that she was struggling to keep her eyes off the man as he stepped up beside her and bowed to Trapan.

            "I have come as ordered, sir.  I am afraid  the strangers are on their way here."

            "You failed, Hero?"  Trapan asked, a hiss of amusement trailing at the end.  "That's not very heroic."

            "It was out of our control, sir," Seguir answered.  "They took a small private ship and managed to evade the security we'd placed on the docks." 

            "And where are they now?"  Trapan asked.

            "My party left them headed for Chesario."  Seguir answered.  "They were badly in need of repairs."

            "So there is some delay…" Trapan mused, "…but they will come.  The Youth has foretold it."  Seguir looked to the girl on the floor, her shoulders trembling.  Trapan continued.  "The night before last, Atlantis granted her a vision in a dream.  The castle was being attacked by hundreds of copies of King Van Fanelia, all their wings spread.  She was carried off by them, black wings on her back and the pendant ripped from around her neck.  This vision translated by myself, states that the Lunars will come, and she will lose Atlantis to the Lunars and that the king will be involved.  But, as has been seen, fate can be changed.  We will make sure, that even if they take the king, we will keep Atlantis.  That is what the Master commands of us."  He turned slick and barked to the girl.  "Youth!  Be gone!  Breathe not a word of your visions or your suspicions!  If they come, let them!  But guard that amulet with your life, for when one departs, so too will the other!"

            "Y-Yes Sir Trapan!"  She cried, then fighting tears and obeying her fears, she dashed from the chamber.

            Seguir turned after her.  "Ayen!"  But she was unable to look at him, not with Trapan's sneer still there.  The captain of the guard turned to the cloaked man.  "Ayen is young, Trapan!  Must you demand so much of her!?!  She's a child!"

            "What is the youth here for but to work!?!"  Trapan snapped.  "She is no longer your problem, Hero.  Despite your name, there will be no heroics in your future towards that Youth."

            Seguir took a deep breath to suppress the pain and tremble in his chest.  He straightened up and set his face grimly, trying to hide the hatred he had for the man before him.

            Trapan was pleased with the effect he was having.  "Leave, Hero.  Go and return to Asturia.  Tell my Minion, Haman these words of the Master.  'Find the girl, Hitomi Kanzaki'.  She is the "Eyes".  She will maintain a relationship to the pendant as long as our Youth has it.  We need the Eyes found and held, for she has answers the Master has not yet found for himself.  This is what the Master says."

*                             Escaflowne                                  *

            The boarders of Chesario were encased in mountains.  Except for its outlet to the sea, nearly half the country was covered in the Adynatons.  The result of this was a very moist, rainy, temperate country built mostly of mountain slopes.  Hitomi watched as people worked in rice fields and sloshed through the dampened streets wearing umbrella hats similar to those she'd seen in the pictures of China in her Geography textbook.  The sky was overcast, but it wasn't raining, and the people were wearing their hats down their backs.  Their clothing was heavier and they wore a lot of belts on their chests, legs, arms, and necks.  She and her friends were riding in a wagon with an upraised platform in the center, built for extra cargo, but providing extra seating.  Two Gaean horses, colored gray like the surroundings, pulled them through the water-filled slats of the road.  The driver was a beast man, half ferret it looked like, and rode on the second story with Gadess, Allen, and Millerna.  They'd hired him and his wagon to taxi them to Gadess's cousin's house.  Hitomi noticed a lot of beast men wandering the streets.  A bear man walked by with a load of rice stalks on his back, a mother deer woman walked by with her fawn child by the hand, this country was so different from Fanelia or Asturia.  She didn't recall ever visiting it before.

            The ferret driver reined the horses to stop in front of a modest house with a high-slanted roof.  He turned to Gadess.  "here is the Hroas home, sir."

            "Thank you."  He said, dropping coins into the man's hand.  Allen stood and called to everyone.  "Everyone off!  We're here!"

            "Wow!"  Celena grinned as she and Suru got off together.  "Its so pretty!"

            "I like it here."  Suru announced.  She took Celena's hand and they ran to the gate.  Gadess stepped around them and moved to the door, but a young, thing man with black-brown hair stepped out the front door before he reached it.

            "What's all this?"

            "Philos?" Gadess asked.

            "Gadess!?!"  Philos cried.  "Oh my gosh!  It is you isn't it!?"  They rushed to meet each other and Philos took him in with a quick, reacquainting embrace.  "My gosh, Gadess!  How long has it been!?  Ten years!?!  What brings you to my door so suddenly!?"

            "I'm afraid we need your help."  Gadess answered.  "We've got some serious business to take care of and I thought you could give us a hand."

            "Of course, of course!  Anything!"  Philos answered.  He looked over the other twelve people.  "Please, come in, all of you!"

            "Thanks a lot mister!"  Koneko chirped.

            The Chesarian turned and led them inside, turning swiftly to Gadess.  "You haven't met my wife have you?  You'll have to meet her first.  She's stunning, I promise you."  He called into the house.  "Botheia!  Botheia!?  We've got visitors!"

            Hitomi entered with Jiai and Yosu.  She noted that the interior of the house was very white, contrasting the gray of the world outside, and filled with wooden decorations and furniture.  She heard commotion in the kitchen, and saw as a woman came into the den.  Hitomi was struck dumb at the sight, for this was no ordinary woman.  Besides being strikingly beautiful, the creature was a beast-woman.  Mostly fox: her skin was covered in smooth reddish fur, her ears were long and pointed with white tips at the points, much like her flowing crimson hair.  The end of her hair, bangs, and tail were tipped in white as well.  The tail was very long and floated weightlessly behind her as she entered to meet them.  The 15 year old was captivated by the woman's motions, which had managed to capture the shape and form of a human as well as the grace and poise of a fox.  Everyone was as startled to see her as Hitomi was, and were even more shocked to realize that this was Philos's wife.

            Gadess's cousin stepped forward and took her hand, her golden eyes stunned at the sight of so many people in her house.  "Theia, this is my cousin Gadess.  He and his friends have asked for our help."

            She turned her ears to him to make sure she'd heard right, but seeing the confidence in her husband's face, she relaxed into an air of pleasantry and addressed the group, her voice almost as satin as her fur.  "Well, if that is the case, then I welcome all of you to our home, and I hope that we may be able to give you what you need."

            "Thank you, Miss."  Allen bowed, quickly.  "I am Sir Allen Schezar of Asturia.  And our party is on a very important mission.  With us, predominantly, is Queen Millerna Aston, herself."

            Millerna stepped forward.  Philos bowed and Botheia curtsied to her, moving her great velvet tail as she did.  Millerna smiled.  "No need for formalities.  I thank you for obliging us so kindly despite our sudden intrusion…"

            "No intrusion."  Botheia assured her.  "If there is anything we know, it is the value of hospitality and helping other people."

            "Please tell us what your mission is."  Philos said. "If there's anything we can do, we'd be happy to do it."

            "I'm afraid it's going to be a long and complex story."  Allen said.  "And I wouldn't want to involve you too deeply, for fear of binding you to its consequences."

            "Please tell us all you can."  Botheia finalized.  "We can move into the den and decide the details after becoming better acquainted."

            Allen gave in, but Millerna answered for him.  "Alright, we'll do that.  Thank you."

*                             Escaflowne                                        *

            I was late afternoon when the story had been told in full.  They decided the best way for the Hroases to understand would be to let them know close to everything.  And while the two of them didn't fully understand the finer points, (the concept of cross-planer connections was something Hitomi and company didn't quite comprehend entirely either), they listened with open minds.  Finally, it came time for the plan of infiltration to be laid out.  

            "You see," Allen said, "we will need disguises for Daiji, Jiai, Yukari, Hitomi, Koneko, and especially the Crusade.  This is where we need your help."

            Philos had one hand on his chin, the slack of his sleeves sagging from the belts on his forearms.  "This is complex, you're right, but we will probably be able to get you your disguises.  I'm afraid they'll look very Chesarian…"

            "That's okay."  Yukari assured.  "We can make Daiji a Chesarian Dignitary."

            "And about the ship," Philos continued, "where is the Crusade now?"

            "Docked at Apiobathra."  Gadess answered.  "the rest of the crew is on board."

            "Apiobathra is convenient…" he proceeded to explain, "you see, I am a partner in a small production company.  We have a Levi-ship we use for making shipments into Deidlas and Fanelia that is also docked at Apiobathra.  It could work out that I could take you there in it and the Crusade could stay behind in Chesario."

            Allen didn't seem to like that much.  "But the people who are staying behind…"

            "Her highness, Celena, Suru, Hakai and yourself are more than welcome to stay here."  Botheia smiled.  "And our home might be a perfectly unassuming place for you to hide afterwards."

            "You would be willing to do that for us?"  Hitomi asked.

            The vixen's leaf-golden eyes smiled.  "My clan has always had a very strong tradition I was taught since I was a pup.  Helping a stranger in need is helping a friend.  I have maintained that philosophy all my life.  We will do all we can."

            "If you would prefer, you can move the Crusade further inland while we are going."  Philos suggested.  "There is an air dock just up the slope behind the town called Drapeteyo that is used for Asturian commerce.  Placing the ship there would provide you will a new direction to get away from."

            "That'd throw 'em for a loop."  Daiji grinned.  "I like it."

            "it does sound like a good plan, Allen."  Amano said.  "Admit it."

            "Alright, we'll carry it out as you say."  Allen complied.

            "So where should we start?"  Hitomi asked.  "Costuming?  W should hurry and get going."

            "Please stay the night."  Philos said.  "We can concentrate better if we aren't rushing around."

            "You guys are the nicest people I've ever met!"  Koneko said.  "Are you two for real?"

            "Yes, we're for real."  Botheia answered.  "We don't mean to be superficial, but I am serious in my traditions.  Because I've married out of the clan does not mean I've forsaken it.  If you decline our charity, it will be a personal insult."

            "And I warn you not to get on her bad side…" Philos said. "She can get nasty."

            "Don't tell them that!"  Botheia cried, laughing.  "I'm trying to make a good impression!"

            "Oh, you have."  Daiji assured, obviously noting her looks.   

            "Daiji!"  Jiai cried.  "She's married!"

            "I know.  It was a joke."  Daiji answered in defense.

            "Thank you, Daiji, I'm flattered."  Botheia said.

            Then the voice of a young  girl was heard throughout the house, accompanied by the pounding of little feet.  "Mommy!  Daddy!  I'm home!"  Around the corner came a six-year-old beast-girl.  She had light brownish hair tipped in white like her mother's, her ears were not as long and pointy and lacked the white tips, but there was fine peach fur on her forehead and the tops of her cheeks in triangles.  She paused in shock, seeing all the strangers in her house, her fox tail, which was the same color and pattern as her hair and much thinner and less bushy than Botheia's, sank down as if she'd forgotten to use it.

            Philos turned to her.  "Eythymia!  I'm glad you're home!"

            "Who are they?"  She asked.

            "These are the friends of your cousin Gadess." Botheia told her, motherly.  "Its okay, they've come to visit us for a little while."  Eythymia seemed very timid, but her mother beckoned her to her.  "Come here, sweetie."

            Eythymia walked over with her tail down and her ears back.  She was pulled up into her mother's lap to sit with her.  Philos smiled to everyone sitting around him.  "This is our daughter, Eythymia."

            "Hello, Eythymia."  Millerna smiled.  "It's nice to meet you."

            She smiled smally, "hello."

            "I didn't know you had a daughter."  Gadess said.  "Of course I didn't know you had a wife."

            "We've been out of touch."  Philos agreed.

            "So how did you two meet?"  Yukari asked.  "It seems, I mean, excuse me for saying this, but it seems like an unlikely match."

            Philos smiled to Botheia.  "Well, I moved here from Limari down by the coast to take up my half of my business.  I moved into this house and walked to work every day by way of the main road.  One day I decided to take the outer road and walk along the gully.  There I say my true love for the first time…."

            "Aw, Philos, that's beautiful."  Botheia blew him a kiss, pinned to her seat by her daughter.

            "I'm sorry to break up this moment…" Allen interrupted, "but I know I, at least, am very anxious to get started on the project."

            "But you can't come."  Jiai reminded him.

            "I know that."  Allen answered, tersely, "but I may ride along to make sure it goes well, and the sooner the better, before more Asturian troops get to Urthras."

            "Well, I should make dinner."  Botheia announced.  She set Eythymia on the floor and stood up.  Millerna stood too.

            "I'll help."

            "Oh, no, Your Majesty, I wouldn't have it – "

            "I insist."  Millerna said. "I won't be any use here, besides I want to.  If you refuse my charity, it will be a personal insult."

            Botheia smiled. "Alright."

            "I'll come, too."  Jiai offered, but Yukari caught her.

            "We should stay since we're involved."

            "Suru, why don't you take Celena in to help?"  Hitomi suggested.

            Suru thought it was a god idea and stood, tugging Celena's hand. "Come on, Celena, we can help too."

            "Do you think we should?"  Celena asked.

            "Hitomi said it was okay."  Suru answered.  "We can go watch."

            "Do you want to see my room?"  Eythymia asked, her tail twitching with excitement.

            "Okay."  Celena agreed, and the six-year old took off to lead the 12 and 16 year olds off to explore. 

            "My room is really neat!  My grandmother, Narna, gave me all sorts of cool stuff form the clan!"  Eythymia grinned, rushing up the stairs in the corner of the room.

            "Clan?"  Celena asked.

            "Where my mom comes from."  Eythymia answered.  "Narna still lives in the village.  We go to visit her all the time.  The village is cool, I always come home with something to decorate my room with."  She opened the door at the top of the stairs and showed them all inside.  Her walls were covered with wooden fold craft in reds and browns and all the colors of foxes.  There were fox tails painted on wooden decorations and in weavings and carvings.  The girls stopped in the doorway to take it in.  Eythymia ran over, jumped up on her wooden bed, and crawled over the quilt to grab a picture frame from her bedside table, her foxish ears twitching.  She ran the picture over to the other two.  "See?  This is me, and Mommy and Daddy and Narna in the village."

            The three of them sat on the floor to look as she pointed to the people in the folk painting.  Her father, Philos, looked out of place, painted as a white circle with brown lines for eyes and black hair pulled back loose into a knot like he wore it.  The foxes were painted traditionally in the way all the other fox people were portrayed on the walls; two lines branching out from the chin to the ears, hair drawn over the foreheads with white tips and lines painted on the faces in their respective eye colors.  She pointed to a red one next to Philos.  "That's Mommy.  And I'm the tan one, there, and the brown one is Narna."  She looked up.  "Narna's todd is the Silver Chief, Kalos.  I cal him Manel, because  that's what Mommy told me to call him.  Everyone else calls him Silver Chief."

            "Then he's your Grandpa."  Suru said.

            "No, Grandpa's my Daddy's daddy."  Eythymia answered. "In the village, people who are special to you get special names.  Narna's name is Asphaleia, but we call her Narna, and Manel's name is Kalos.  So that's what I call them.  I should show you Narna and Manel's house while you're here!  We can all go out and visit!"

            "I'd like that."  Suru answered

            "Me too."  Celena agreed.  "It sounds like so much fun to go see another way people live."

            "Yeah!  It's real cool!"  Eythymia grinned with brightness.  "I love it there!  Let me show you some of the stuff Narna made me."  She went to the dresser and brought back a wooden doll.  The doll was carved like the folk paintings; with fox ears extending from a sharp chin and lines for eyes.  It had shredded cloth for hair that was dyed crimson with white paint at the end of each strip.  Its tail was made the same way.  She sat down with it.  "This is Leptelepitos."

            "That's a funny name."  Suru said, taking it.

            "Narna named it.  She said she made it to look like me and that the name was important because it means 'delicate' and that was what I was.  I thought it sounded funny, so I call her Leppy.  I think she's the best."  

            "I have a doll."  Suru reached into her jean pocket and took out the three paper doll pieces.  "This is Molly Dolly."

            "Why is she in parts?"  Eythymia asked.

            "Because she wanted to play with everybody."  Suru answered.  "So now everyone can play with her."

            "Does Molly Dolly want to play with Leppy?"  Eythymia asked, hopefully, her brown eyes wide.

            "She wants to play."  Suru answered. She turned to Celena.  "Do you want to play?"  Celena nodded.  Suru handed her a part of the doll.  "Here, you can be her head.  That's my favorite part."

            In the kitchen, Millerna was helping with dinner.  "So, what was it like in your clan?"

            Botheia smiled, her golden-leaf eyes glittering.  "It was nice.  A simple life.  We would spend time honoring our customs and beliefs and making things to sell.  The village where my family lives is not very far away."

            "They must be very generous to let you leave."  Millerna observed.

            Botheia got out a pot to make soup.  "They didn't approve at first.  The village usually scorns the women for leaving, and here as well as there, mixed relationships are uncommon and hard to accept."

            "But they did let you go nicely, right?"  Millerna asked, hoping that she hadn't stepped on sensitive territory, but Botheia was reassuring.

            "Oh, of course.  My father is the Silver Chief, and when he saw how much I loved Philos, and how good a person he was, they adopted him into the clan and let me go with him into town."

            "So you're a princess?"  Millerna said, pleased.  "So we have something in common!"

            "Oh, but I will never lead the village."  Botheia said.  "I have three older brothers to do that."

            "that's right…" Millerna sighed, her spirits sinking down, "I always forget I'm queen…."  She stood still for a minute, then made a decision.  "Botheia, you said that you love Philos."

            "Yes."  She answered, her white tipped bangs moving with a graceful turn of her head.

             The queen had a pressing question she was dying to ask an impartial party.  "How did you know…"

            "That I was in love?"  Botheia finished.  Millerna nodded slowly, locking her blue eyes with the woman's.  Botheia blinked, then returned to her cooking.  "Well, despite my husband's romantics, it was not love at first sight… for me.  He saw me weaving flowers in the glade to sell as jewelry.  Everyone in the village is required to make something for trade money, and I'd found the perfect project.  It was the first cool day of the dryer season, the only time that the marshflowers can spring up without being drowned or battered by raindrops.  He saw me sitting there and hurried over, but I'd been taught for all of my life to beware of strange men and todds, and of course, and of course, I was only eighteen.  I talked to him about how I needed to work and he struck me as being very honest and kind, but he was too good to be true, so I dismissed him and returned home quickly.  I thought about him all that day, and that night, he appeared behind our house and talked to me through the window.  Our house was built high from the ground in case of flood, so I had to lean out to him.  He showed up every night without fail, and we would talk without my parents knowing.  That was when I fell in love."

            "Why did you decide then?"  Millerna asked.

            "Because he cared so much for me that he wanted to get to know me and be near me.  Even when I turned him away he kept coming back.  All along, I knew deep inside that I could trust him, and when I realized that I couldn't stop thinking about him either; that was when I saw that I loved him.  That night, I met him on the ground and told him so.  We had our first kiss by moonlight under my windowsill, and the next day he took me out in daylight through the village and the town without a care in the world.  When we were together nothing else mattered.  That's the bond we have."

            "So you loved him…" Millerna summarized, "when you realized how much he loved you?"

            "That's right."  Botheia answered.  "And when I saw him with my heart and not my tutored mind.  Sometimes what we've come to belief is not what's true.  Lessons parents have drilled into our heads sometimes need to be proven by the heart.  That kind of realization is the truest truth there could be."

            "Proven by the heart…  truest truth…"  Millerna repeated, her eyes moistening, she looked up.  "That was beautiful."

            "Philos tells me I have a mind for words."  Botheia answered with a grin.

            Hitomi appeared in the doorway.  "How is it going in here?  Would you like some more help?"

            "We're doing fine."  Botheia answered.  "But you're welcome to lend a hand if you so desire."

            "I just felt like I needed to volunteer.  There are a lot of people to feed."

            "What are we making?"  Millerna asked.

            "Silverfox Bonfire Stew."  Their hostess answered.  "The dish my ancestors always made to feed visiting clans.  I thought it was appropriate, but don't share the recipe, it's a secret."

            "So I will fly the Thysia out near Urthras…"  Philos finalized.

            "Thysia?"  Jiai asked

            "That's the name of my ship."  He answered.  "Thysia, after my mother."

            "Nice sentiment."  Amano said.

            "Maybe I am a bit of a romantic.." Philos grinned with a shrug.  "But anyway, I fly you all out to Fanelia, land in the forest outside the capital city, and wait for you to return so I may whisk you back to Chesario with King Van."

            "And Merle!"  Koneko cried.  "You can't forget my cat girl!"

            "Of course."  Philos smiled to her.

            "How fast is the Thysia?"  Yosu asked.

            "She's fast enough.  She's a high-atmosphere vessel.  If the Levi-stones are warm enough, I can make it from Apiobathra to Skorosty, Deidlas in half a day."

            "That's impressive."  Gadess whistled.  "We could get the whole thing done in an evening."

            "I'm excited now!"  Jiai smiled.  "But I'm also scared.  I'm afraid that I'll be the one who won't be able to hold it together and will blow our cover."

            "I'll look out for you, Jiai."  Daiji reassured.  "Don't worry about it."

            She blushed a little and smiled at him.

            "We'll work on your costumes tonight."  Philos resolved.  "The girls should be easy enough, but I don't know about you, Daiji.  You're much taller and have a sturdier build than I do.  We'll have to ask around for nice clothes that will fit you.  And Allen," he turned to the knight, "have you decided whether you're coming or not?"

            "I'm still debating."  Allen answered.  "I feel like I should go in case you need me, but then again, there would be no one here to look after the Queen when we leave her.  If Haman sends people out to look for us and no one is here when they arrive, then Millerna and Celena…"  He trailed off into thought.  It was interrupted when suddenly a shrill cry came form up the stairs.  Allen's face blanched, and his eyes sprung wide.  There was no mistake; it was happening again.  He sprung up as his sister's screams ripped through the tranquility of the house.  Hitomi ran in from the kitchen as Allen bolted by.  "Celena!"

            In Eythymia's room, their playing dolls had knocked over a lamp, and the oil and flame were spreading along the wooden floor.  Celena was kneeling over a patch of fire, her hands on her head and horrible screams shaking her frame.  Before her, the face of her paper doll was being decimated by the crackling tongues of destruction.  Eythymia jumped up.  "Celena!?  It's okay, I'll put it out!  Don't scream!  See?  I'll put it out!"  The six year old grabbed a rug off the floor and snuffed the fire with it, smoke trailing up, but he image of a human face being blackened in a consuming veil of orange and red stung in the16-year-old's head, rearranging concepts, bring up strange  memories and stabbing pains.  Her hair began to bristle up as she replayed it over and over in her mind, unable to focus on anything else.  Eythymia was at a loss, but Suru, for some reason, seemed calm.  She took one of Celena's hands and held it in hers, her blue eyes innocent and strangely mature.

            "Don't leave, Celena.  We have to play more."  She said. "Don't worry about my doll.  We can still play anyway.  Come back and play, Celena."

            The girl heard her own voice speaking her name, and the episode subsided.  The screams were less forced, and her hair fell between her fingers.   Just then, Allen barged into the room.  Hitomi and Hakai were right on his tail.  He saw his sister on the floor and fell down beside her to help her, whispering her name and bringing her back fully.  Celena opened up her light blue eyes and peered out through her wispy hair.  She was again in the comfort of her brother's arms, but now she stared into her same eyes on Suru's face.  Her bewilderment and the exhaustion of the attack overtook her and she passed out in Allen's embrace.

            He sighed and picked her up off the floor, laying her on the quilt of the bed.  He kissed her forehead and let her sleep, turning to meet Philos and the others at the door.  "I'm staying."

            "Good." Philos agreed.

            Hitomi clung to the doorpost and stared at the scene.  The arrest itself hadn't frozen her, she was thinking back to what she saw when she'd arrived.  Allen wasn't the only one to save her; Suru had healed her too.  She began to consider the connection again and the screaming she'd heard in Suru's head.  Botheia came in to the room, her brick-red tail hung low in gravity.  She took her daughter's hand.  "Eythy, come along."

            "You too, Suru."  Yukari whispered to the 12-year-old.  "Why don't you let Celena sleep for a while?"

            Suru paused and looked to the redhead with disinterest.  She then resumed her gaze on Celena, sleeping before her.  Yukari was about to enter when the blonde moved.  Suru picked up Leppy, the fox doll, and put it next to Celena on the bed.  "Now you won't be scared.  Eythymia's here with you to be your friend."  Then Suru gathered what was left of her paper doll, but when she removed the mat for the head, there was nothing left of it but ashes and smoke.  Replacing the mat, she left he two other pieces on top and left the room empty handed and apparently burdened with grief.

*                             Escaflowne                                        *

It was night, and the girl, Ayen, was trying to sleep in her room at the palace.  The Atlantican pendant was beside her on the side-table.  She wanted no visions tonight.  She was afraid they'd be of Seguir….

            The very thought of him broke her heard and she started crying again.  He was there, he was in the building, breathing the same air.  His melef was sitting in the docking bay.  Perhaps they could escape together that night….

            Just then, she heard a voice in her room.  It was a slick, greasy voice and hovered in the air like oil separating from water.  She sprung up, her brown-red hair across her shoulders, and the covers pulled up to her chin.  Trapan spoke to her in the dark.  She couldn't see where he was when he began.  "You've  bet your hero again, Youth."

            "Si-Sir Trapan!?!"  She huddled up in fear.

            "I was going to let you see each other…" he said in mock sympathy, "but alas, the Hero failed to stop the Eyes from making their way to Fanelia.  I suppose there will be no happy reunion this time."

            Her green eyes were stuck wide, having realized what he meant.  "But – But Sir Trapan!  You cant!"

            "SILENCE!"

            She flinched, knowing that another shout would wake Van or someone else who didn't know about their faction.  Then everything would be out of the water and Trapan would blame her.

            The man continued at a lower decibel.  "The Eyes are on their way.  They have taken a detour, but they are coming.  If your double makes it into the palace and interferes with anything, whether Atlantis or the Dragon King, you will have no hero."

            "Sir Trapan!?!"  Ayen cried.

            "You heard me…" Trapan hissed, the pleasure gone and dead seriousness replacing it.  "If you fail as well, you will NEVER see your father again."

            The night settled and she knew that he'd left.  She reached over and grabbed the pendant quickly, hiding it in her fist against her chest.  She took a deep breath and pulled the chain over her hair.  If she was to stop her double, she would need every clue, and every vision, she could get.

To Be Continued…


	8. Episode 8: Coldness

Escaflowne:   Mirrors 

Episode 8:  Coldness

            Hitomi watched Fanelia roll into view.  Her eyes drooped despite the anxiety she felt inside.  They'd stayed up all the last night sorting through Botheia's closet and sorting out costumes for Jiai and Yukari.  They'd left Apiobathra early in Philos's merchant ship, the Thysia.  Something about the thick forest below made her sad. She thought that it was probably because it reminded her of being with Van.  She was so heartsick; she had been all this time, but was just too busy to recognize it.  She wanted to have her dream again, the one where Van rescued her.  It seemed like a very long time since she'd had it.  She let her tired lids close and she leaned against the port windowsill.  Sleep came to her with new visions.

            She had wings.  She could feel them extending from her back and holding her in the air, the feathers rustled in the wind as did her blazer and skirt.  The roles had been switched, perhaps, she was going to save Van this time… but ahead rushed the black city again, its spires rising, springing from the earth into the expanse of endless sky.  The fire of destruction shot up again, but this time, they were around her, and their flickering tongues ate the delicate layers of feathers on her back.  She fell, the black scorched plumes scattering from her flightless appendages, and leaving a trail of death behind her.

            Again she hit the ground, dust and angel feathers scattering in an uneven suspension.  Before she looked up, she could hear the footsteps of the Guymelefs coming for her.  No rescue.

            Suddenly, she heard a woman's voice.  "Get up!  Hurry!"

            Hitomi looked and saw a tall woman in a traveling hood that disguised her face.  She grabbed her out of the dirt and pulled her away.  Hitomi was running again; running way from the mecha as before.  The melefs trundled on.  They were unfeeling machines without faces, chasing her down.  The lead suit stooped and grabbed her around the middle.  Hitomi held fast to her strange savior's hand, but was pulled free.  The hooded figure screamed and burst into a flurry of feathers that settled back to ashes.  Hitomi couldn't believe what she'd witnessed.  Rescue had come, but been defeated, and she was again being clamped by the iron fist of the enemy.  There was nothing to do… she cried out.

            "Hitomi…"

            The girl was jerked awake, her heart pounding.  She looked into Van's face in front of her, but this one belonged to Yosu.  He gazed at her with concern, his brown eyes showing it.

            "Are you okay?"

            She swallowed hard on the after effects of the dream and nodded.  "I'm fine, Yosu, why wouldn't I be?"

            "You looked afraid in your sleep."  Yosu explained.  "Just laying there, you looked afraid."

            She noticed then that she wasn't by the window, but on a bed.  The noontime sun was shining through a window and she could see stationary treetops framed in it.  "How long was I asleep?"

            "I don't know, four or five hours?"  Yosu answered.

            She shook her head.  "It seemed much shorter than that."

            "Well, Gadess should be back at any time with word from Allen's friend."  Yosu reported.  "I thought I should get you up."

            "Thanks, Yosu, I do want to know what's going on."

            Philos appeared in the door, his Chesarian belts clamping his shirt and his sleeves to his body and his black-brown hair tied loosely behind his head.  "Ah, so you're feeling better, Hitomi?"

            "Yes sir."  Hitomi answered.

            "I know you'd end up napping sometime around here."  He told her.  "This has been hard on you, I'm sure."         

            "It has.  I want to get Van out of there so badly.  I can't stand it!"  Hitomi cried.

            "Don't worry about a thing."  Philos reassured with a smile.  "We're parked about three quarters of a mile from the palace.  Gadess should be here soon enough.  And you've come up with a near flawless plan!  You'll have Van back before you see another day pass."

            "You think so?"  Hitomi asked.

            "If we have the okay, the plan goes on tonight."  He answered.  "And there is no doubt that Allen's friend Hoden will participate.  He's got a note from both Allen AND Queen Millerna obliging him.  If he passes that, he's disloyal AND uncaring."

            "Hey!"  Amano peeked in.  "People!  Gadess is back!"

            "Alright!"  Philos grinned.  "Let's see what he's got!"

            The three of them headed out and down to the front room of the Thysia.  There, the hatch had swung open and Gadess climbed up with a package under his arm.  The eight of them: Philos, Hitomi, Yosu, Amano, Koneko, Jiai, Yukari, Daiji, and Amano: looked on anxiously.  Gadess looked to them with a glint in his eye and triumph on his face.  "We've got Hoden!"

            "Alright!"  Daiji said.

            "Was he hard to convince?"  Jiai asked.

            "Not at all," Gadess reported, "the slightest hint that Allen and Millerna were involved swung him around totally."

            "Allen does have a way…" Yukari said, looking distant.  Koneko jumped in beside her and scared her out of it.

            "So whatcha got!?!"

            "I need a place to set all this down."  Gadess said, firstly, messing with the bundle in his hands.

            "The inventory room." Philos directed them to the side and through a door.  The inventory room extended deep into the ship, but they stopped at a table just in the door so Gadess could unload and show them what Hoden had given them.

            Everyone gathered around the table.  Gadess unpackaged a bundle of clothes, what looked like armor, and some papers.  He tossed Amano a blue uniform with the Asturian seal on the arm.  "Here, these are for us.  We can sneak in the back dressed as some of Hoden's men."  He tossed Hitomi and Koneko two uniforms of a different kind, red with the Fanelian flag on them.  "These two are for you girls so that you will not be suspicious moving around with Yosu."  Finally, he tossed the orange-haired teen a bundle.  "This here is the crown jewel…Hoden managed to get some of King Van's normal clothes for you.  I had a feeling you were the same size."  Yosu pulled out the red sleeveless shirt that had white laces up the front.  

Hitomi took a start, the sight of the face and the shirt together brought back strong memories of its owner.  She recovered and smiled to him.  "With those and the wig we got from Botheia and there's no way they'll know you weren't Van!"

            "Daiji, this is for you."  Gadess said, handing him a piece of rolled parchment.

            Daiji was surprised to have gotten something since his costume and lines had been all sorted out back in Chesario.  "What is it?"

            "It's a letterhead from Asturia."  Gadess answered.  "Write out your formal orders on it.  It'll add to your believability."

            Daiji unrolled it and noted the sword seal with the curving green dragons.  "Cool."

            "And most importantly," Gadess finished, "we've got a complete map of every floor in the palace.  Every entrance, exit, window, and closet!"

            "Excellent."  Yosu said, confidently. "Let's get our ins and outs plotted right now before we do anything else."

            Gadess nodded and rolled the map out on the table.  "This chamber here is the throne room.  They apparently still don't have the thrones finished.  It's too bad everything else is practically done or we could use the gaps as access or possibly be disguised as workers, but only this far wing at the corner is still incomplete."  He tapped the page.

            "We could still use that."  Amano said.

            "It's out of the way."  Gadess dismissed.  "It'd be better to use the back door.  This is the main entrance.  Hoden will meet Daiji, Yukari, and Jiai here and escort them to the throne room.  This entrance over here is where he said Amano, the Merle team, and myself should enter."

            "Together?"  Yosu asked.

            Gadess nodded.  "With four guards, Yosu will not be required to act as much.  We'll part company inside.  There, Merle team will take this hallway down to the dungeon and the Van team will take this hallway to the throne room."

            "We'll have to memorize the way."  Hitomi reasoned.

            "I'll do it!"  Koneko cried.

            "I don't know how professional we'll look with you leading us, Neko." Yosu said.

            "So Hoden will be waiting for us outside the throne room door.  We will duck into this room here until Van comes out.  Afterwards, he can escort us out without a problem.  Hoden will return and take the rest of you out safely the way you came in."

            "You're not outlining a lot about us."  Koneko pointed out.

            "You've got another Van to help you out."  Amano recalled. 

            "Oh yeah…" Koneko remembered.

            Hitomi looked up.  She had a bad feeling growing inside her.  "But what if something goes wrong?"  

            Philos looked gravely to her.  "It won't"

*                             Escaflowne                                        *            

            Seguir stood in the Fanelian melef hangar; alone except for the guard posted nearly unconsciously 100 feet away.  The bronze-haired 35-year-old glanced with his green eyes to the stationary, finding him without response.  The Asturian let out a depressed sigh and looked up to his pale olive Guymelef.  'Pravada, you've been something I've been able to rely on for twenty years now, but now that I've hit my toughest time, even you can't help me out.  Maybe… Maybe I should just leave.'  A lump formed in his throat and in the pit of his stomach.  He glanced up toward the door.  It was dark in that hall, the afternoon sunlight poured into the hangar from behind him.  Not even a bright Fanelian day could mask the pain he had.  The thought of Ayen started his eyes watering.  He hung his head and put his hands on his hips, leaning forward so that what tears might emerge would not stain his cheeks.  The silently waving whips of his hair stood off from the part over his forehead.  Seguir steeled his emotions, and rolled his shoulders to ease his tightness.  'No, I can't give up that easy.  I won't leave; I cant when I'm so close to her.  They drove me off once: I won't leave now without a fight.  Something's happening around here.  She needs me, and I need her.  I'll bide my time… there must be something to keep me here.  Some excuse…'  He looked up at the melef catching the sunlight in a strip across its shoulder.  The soldier noted an imperfection in the greenish armor.  'Pravada…perhaps you can help after all.

            Seguir climbed up onto the melef, triggering the lever to open the hatch.  Every surface was decorated in metal ridges and curving leaf patterns.  Angled leaves clamped the breastplate entrance to the body.  They folded out with a hiss of steam and let the door swing open.  He stood looking into the cockpit.  The Pravada was old, much older than the newer, factory-made Guymelefs such as the Oreaides and Alseides of Zaibach, or the Maginot of Asturia.  It dated back to the Ispano-era melefs, though it was not of their make as far as he knew.  It had been his great grandfather's.

            He unbelted his green hip-cape that stood stiff in the Asturian style about his calves, and tossed it into the cavity to store it.  Next came his matching shirt, which looked like two at first glance, but was truly a stitched olive-colored chest with the lighter green collar and puffed sleeves attached.  There was a band around each wrist that matched the mid-tone greens.  Shirtless, he clambered in his belted white pants out to the shoulder, where the flat, angled metal flight boosters folded out of the body.  The heat of the thrusters had left black scorch marks on the upper arms.  With an exterior maintenance file, he began wearing away at the damage.  A Fanelia guard walked by and noted him there.  "Sir Nadeje!?!  Is that you, Sir!?"

            He looked down, for a thirty-five year old he was very well built, and the muscles on his back and shoulders gained definition in his work.  He let the file lower to his lap. "It's me."

            "The soldier seemed surprised.  "Sir!?  We have men who could do that for you if you'd like!"

            "No thank you."  Seguir replied.  "When it comes to the Pravada, I like to do it myself.  It helps me think.  And I'd like to get her in shape before I head back to Asturia."

            "Right sir."  The soldier agreed.  "Whatever you like."  He moved off to continue his rounds.

            Seguir let his strong shoulders sag.  'Trapan says I have to go back to Asturia.  But then I will never see Ayen again, I'll just continue being that oily creature's message boy to Haman while he keeps her hostage.  I don't like her being alone with him here.  She's only fourteen with that lunatic controlling her every move.  A girl shouldn't have to live with this.  Not with what they've done to us already.  Trapan gave me every indication that he will never have us together in the same place again.  And even as we are now, he wouldn't let her look at me.'  Seguir scowled as he continued his work, trying to clean, but not damage, the fine details of the cast metal.  'He's a monster.  He's not even a man I don't think.  He's too cruel to be a man.  I hate being under his control, but I hate how he treats Ayen the most.  I feel for her constantly.'  He sighed.  'How can I be pressured into letting my daughter continue in this way?  Threats suppress my good intentions.  If I were to go against the Master's orders, a worse fate would come to her.  She suffers because of me, and that's wrong.  It's cruel.  I won't stand for it anymore.  If only we could escape…' He paused.  'Escape?  Why not?  He thinks I should be leaving anyway.  He won't know what we've done until he can't find us.  We could hide out.  I don't know where we'd go or what we'd do, but at least it would be better than this...' her realized he'd stopped filing and stared at the chips of green showing through the black.  He took heart.  'We deserve better than this.'

*                             Escaflowne                                        *

            Time was running down.  Hitomi and Koneko were getting into their costumes, ready to carry out their plans.  The sun was setting outside the Thysia.  The Fanelian solder uniforms were made for men, and were uncomfortable for them to wear.  Hitomi did the best she could to look normal in them.  She picked up her helmet, not quite ready to put it on, they would move out after dark and she still had some time to go.  Koneko hopped on one foot.  "Ack!  Hitomi!?!  Could you help me with this!?!  This stupid belt-thong thing wont go on!"

            "Its not supposed to go through your legs, Koneko."  Hitomi said.

            Koneko stopped mid-hop, her foot halfway through one of the loops.  "It's not?"

            "It's a sash!"  Hitomi smiled.  "Hold on, I'll fix it."  She came around to the back of the 12-year-old and began to right her, buckling the shoulder belt in the back.  "You got the path memorized?"

            "Right. Right.  Down.  Left.  Long Hallway.  Down.  Right."  Koneko recited.  "I got it."

            "Good, we're counting on you."  She said, finishing up.  "You're set.  Let's see how the others are doing."

            Daiji was getting suited up in the next room, his diplomat outfit consisting of borrowed clothes in reds and blues, and looked halfway between Asturian and Chesarian with puffier sleeves and a couple extra belts.  Philos, Yukari, and Jiai were giving him a hand, the girls already dressing in variations of some of Botheia's formalwear.  He seemed uncomfortable with so many people swarming around him.  "Can I help you guys at all?"

            "Just stay still."  Yukari commanded.  "I gotta change your hair."

            "You can't wear these."  Philos said, taking the sunglasses off his face.  He examined the plastic black rims.  "I don't even know what these are made of."

            "Overpriced Petroleum solution."  He answered.

            "Do you know your lines?"  Jiai asked.

            "I've been sent to check up on the state of repairs and the sufficiency of the Asturian aid."  He answered.  "And I'm only dropping by because I'm already late for a formal engagement in… in…" He turned to Philos.  "Where am I going?"

            "Egzardia."  The Chesarian answered.  "If you forget, just say 'East'"

            "Do you have your orders written out?" Jiai asked.

            He pounded his forehead with the heel of his hand.  "I forgot about that completely!  It'll take me a second…"

            "I'll do it."  Jiai volunteered.

            Yukari stood on a chair behind him and grabbed a chunk of his bangs.  "Don't move."

            "Ow!"

            Hitomi came in.  "Everything under control?"

            "It's coming together."  Philos replied, belting an over cloak across Daiji's chest.  "We're cutting it kind of close."

            Yukari was wearing Daiji's hat so that her hands were free to mess with his brown hair.  It was too big for her and she had to cock her head to one side to see.  She pulled out the hair band keeping his low ponytail back and left his hair down, putting the hat on top.

            Hitomi advised against it.  "Don't do that.  He looks like Dryden."

            "That's bad?" Yukari asked.

            "Van knows what Dryden looks like."  Hitomi answered.  

            "Okay."  Yukari pulled the body of his very wavy hair up off his neck, meaning to hide it under his hat.  "How's this?"

            She rejected that as well.  "Now he looks even more like Dryden."

            "I was under the impression I looked like Dryden no matter what you do to me."  Daiji voiced.

            Hitomi had to give him that, he looked more like his connection than anyone else in her party.  "Well, yeah, but we can hide it as best we can.  Pull his bangs up, Dryden's never seen without his bangs."

            Yukari bunched it all up under the hat and Jiai came forward with the Asturian parchment just as Gadess and Amano entered in Asturian uniforms.  "I'm done with it!  I tried to make my longhand look more formal, do you think I did a good job?"

            "Let me see."  Gadess requested.  He peered over her shoulder and was shocked.  "Whoa!  You and the Queen have very similar handwriting.  Its nearly identical!"

            "Freaky."  Daiji stated, but his head was yanked around as Philos belted his collar up.

            "Tell me if I'm choking you."

            "You're choking me."

            Yosu came in wearing Van's clothes.  "I need some help getting this wig on. I can't put it on straight without orange sticking out."

            "I am the hairmaster!  Let me do it!"  Yukari volunteered.  She hopped off the chair and went over to help.  Koneko lended a hand as well.  Hitomi stood with a trembling heart at the oddity of seeing all of Van there with spiky orange hair.  AS the girls went to work on him, the only part that was Yosu disappeared under one of Eythymia's dress-up wigs.  Hitomi nearly began to cry; from the outside he was all Van.  She remembered again her vision dream: Van flying down and becoming Yosu just in time to rescue her.  This was too bizarre, having it reverse itself in real life.

            Yukari patted the imperfect black-gray mop down into a side-part and turned to look in his face.  "You up for this?"

            He blinked his Van-brown eyes and nodded with determination.  "I'll do it for Van and Merle.  And Hitomi."  He looked to her, but found her spacey, and trembling with her hands pulled up in front of her chin.  He was startled at her state, coming back more concerned.  "Hitomi?  Are you okay?"

            She couldn't help herself.  She was overcome with heartache, and her emotions were confused.  Deep inside, her fluttering adolescent heart leapt with joy at the sight of her long lost love, but her head knew it wasn't him.  She tried to tell herself that it was Yosu locking eyes with her, but her deepest desires were putting up a fight and refused to give in.  She tried gallantly to suppress it.  She pushed back her memory, back, back, trying to cover it in anything else to hide it from her mind.  Then, all of a sudden, a new vision appeared.  One she hadn't seen before:  A strong, broad-shouldered man with white feathered wings flew down with his arms out, ready to grab her quickly and take her into the air.  He rushed forward faster than the wind, his eyeless face set on her and his strong wings beating up the reddened sky.

            Then there was Van…Yosu…Van staring at her intently.  She didn't know if this was real or a vision.  She covered her eyes and fell to her knees.  She didn't want to see anymore.

            Yosu moved quickly to her, wanting to help, but Jiai caught him and kept him back. Yukari came through instead.  "Hitomi!"

            "Jiai!?!  What's the deal…!?!"  Yosu objected.

            "Its you she's having trouble with." Jiai told him. "You look too much like Van.  Don't make it worse!"

            Yukari pulled Hitomi's hands from her face.  "Hitomi!  Hitomi!  It's okay!  It's okay!  It's Yosu!  Its just Yosu!"

            The girl on the floor couldn't stop trembling.  She could feel some sort of dread in her heart…for some reason… death…. Hitomi shook out her head but it wouldn't go away.  There seemed to be nothing she could do to escape the vision and the despair.  Yukari got her by the shoulders.

            "HITOMI!?!  HITOMI!?!  Snap out of it!!!"

            She focused on Yukari, and the feeling of her grip on her arms.  This was real.  She resurfaced, warily, into the room.  "I-I'm alright now... I was just… overcome."

            "You're going to have to get over this if you are going to work with Yosu."  Yukari warned.  "Do you think you are up to it?"

            "I can do it."  Hitomi assured.  Everyone watched her carefully.  "I can do it."

*                             Escaflowne                                        *

            Ayen sat with Van in the throne room.  She was in a queen's throne, back straight, eyes alert.  Van looked over.  "Hitomi?  Why are you so rigid?  Relax."

            She tried to make it look like she was relaxing.  "No reason!"  then returned to her watch.  Trapan's visit to her room the night before had done more than make a point.  She'd become desperate.  She'd spent the entire day waiting for 'The Eyes' to appear.  She didn't know what she looked like, exactly; all Ayen knew was that she and 'The Eyes' were doubles.  The same.  If she could find Hitomi, the real Hitomi, she was sure she'd recognize her the minute she saw her same green eyes staring back at her.  She'd devoted every conscious moment to this task; even laying aside her duties over Van to make sure The Eyes didn't interfere.  Trapan had warned her that by letting Hitomi and company leave Asturia, he'd decided to cut all chance of she and her father reuniting.  That was Seguir's mistake, but she and he counted as one to Trapan, and he would use one to punish the other.  That meant the two of them had already failed once in this pivotal hour, and she knew what would happen if they filed again: Trapan had threatened her saying she would never see her hero again.  While eternal separation would be bad enough, she could sense in his greasy, slippery voice that he was hinting at death.  If she let The Eyes interfere, he would kill her father.  No.  She couldn't let him down, not again, not with these kinds of stakes…

            Outside, Operation Rescue was in full swing, and the Diversion team was in place.  Daiji, Jiai, and Yukari were psyched up.  They'd left the other five at the ship, Yukari with a kiss from Amano, and come around to the front of the building in elaborately disguised Cheso-Asturian formalwear.  Daiji took a deep breath, ready to sink into his role.  He looked to the girls flanking him.  "You ready?"

            They nodded.  Jiai touched his arm.  "Are you?"

            "We'll see."  He said, shrugging in his last moment as himself.  "Ready or not, here we come."  With that, he became steely and the other two swallowed hard as they marched around and up to the front gate of the unfinished palace.  A red-clad guard stopped them at the door.  "Hold it, who are you?"

            "I am Sir Biao, Asturia-Egzardia dignitary and representative of Queen Millerna Aston."  Daiji answered.  "These are my attendants Fu and Yuan.  We were instructed to audience with the king."

            "You look Asturian, but you dress isn't Asturian or Egzardian!"  The guard observed, cockily.  "Plus I had no word you were coming!"

            "Wait, Soldier!"

            The guard whirled around to find a heavy-set man with a pale blonde mustache and blue uniform appear down the walk.  He saluted immediately. "Commander Hoden!"

            Their rendezvous stepped up to Daiji.  "Do you have official orders, sir?"

            "Yes."  He answered.  "Fu, produce the papers."

            "Yes sir."  Jiai said, her acting timid.  She pulled out the parchment Hoden had given them at the start and presented it stiffly to him.

            Hoden took it in his large hand and scanned it.  "This is from the queen, herself."  He said, his acting much better than hers.  "This proves their honesty.  I am sorry for the delay.  I will escort you to the throne room personally at once."  He turned to the guard.  "Quickly run ahead and pass the message that the Queen's consorts have arrived."

            "Y-Yes sir!  Rightaway!"  The guard dashed off.

            As soon as they were alone, Hoden turned to them.  "Seijitsu?"  

            "Hoden."  Daiji answered, not dropping his character.  "Will this be sufficient?"

            "Yes, and with the message being passed soldier to soldier, the whole castle will know you are here in five minutes."

            "Good."  Daiji agreed.  Jiai looked into his face, surprised at the dramatic change taken place there.  

            Hoden nodded, set his brown eyes and turned to the others.  "Let's go."

            On the other side of the building, the Merle and Van teams approached in formation.  Amano and Gadess, dressed as Asturian soldiers, went first in order to hide how small Hitomi and Koneko were in their Fanelian uniforms.  Yosu, as Van, was in the middle, supposedly being guarded by the others.  They stepped up to a rear entrance where two guards were talking amongst themselves.

            "Did you here?  Some important guy is here!  Commander Hoden is making a big deal out of him!"

            "Where's he from?"  The other asked.

            "Asturia."  The other answered.

            "Don't we have enough from Asturia?  That huge load of soldiers are still hanging around and it was yesterday right, that those Maginot Melefs came?"

            "Maybe he's with them," the first said again, "but that's not the point.  The guard in front said that this guy had two chicks with him!"

            "Asturian?"

            "Nah, their names sound Egzardian."  He said.  "Fu and Yuan, I think.  And from what I hear, they're young and pretty."

            "Hot?"

            "I'm guessing."

            The second soldier whistled.  "I hope they stick around!  I wanna see them if I can!  We never get hot foreign chicks around here!  That guy's gotta be one lucky sucker."

            Hitomi recognized the names Philos had given the diversion team, and took heart that at least their end was moving along as planned, even though she saw Amano's shoulders scrunch when he heard them talking about his girlfriend.  Now all she had to do was hold it together and keep from staring at Yosu while Gadess was bargaining their way in.  If it worked right, Yosu wouldn't have to say a word until they got to the dungeons.  They approached along the wall and the two guards stopped their chatter.  "Who goes there?" 

            "It's alright," Gadess replied, "Two Asturian Solders and two Fanelian.  We are escorting the King."

            "The King!?!"  One cried.  "THE king!?  King Van!?  Where!?!"

            "Here."  Yosu stated.  Amano and Gadess weren't expecting him to speak up and moved aside so that he could step through.  The two soldiers changed their tune in an instant.

            "Oh!  King Van!?!  What are you doing out this late at night!?!"

            "Yes, Sir!  There's a visitor waiting for you inside!  We just heard word!"

            "I've heard."  Yosu replied, his voice identical to Van's in every way, even down to the impatient undertones.  "I was surveying.  These soldiers came to find me and report on it.  Now let us inside."

            "Of course sir!"  They moved aside and let the party pass through.  Yosu let out a sigh as soon as the gate doors were closed behind them.  Before they knew it the five of them were walking down the great wooden halls of the Palace.  The carpet stretched out straight in a long line with several hallways branching off.  There were plaques of Fanelian royal seal and portraits of various important people… Hitomi noticed one of Van and his older brother Folken when they were younger.  She stopped to stare.  Van was awfully cute.  He looked to be three or four, and his 15-16 year old brother looked innocent and happy.  She remembered how Folken had died.  She'd been there when he killed the evil Dornkirk and fallen because of his injuries.  It made her sad seeing how happy these two had been before everything had happened…that same guilt was threatening to purge her mind again.

            "Hey Hitomi!!"  Koneko hissed in stage whisper.  "Come on!"

            She realized what she should have been doing and jumped back into formation.  Gadess glanced down the hall ahead and the ones on either side of the paneled four-way intersection to be sure no REAL guards were watching.  Convinced they were safe, he turned back.  "Okay.  Here's where we split."

            "What happened, Yosu?"  Amano asked.  "I thought you were trying not to act as much as possible."

            "I don't really know."  Yosu replied.  "Something just kinda came over me and I knew how to speak."

            "Well, whatever it is, milk it for all its worth."  Gadess said.  "As of now, you three are on your own."

            "We'll make it!"  Koneko smiled.  "I memorized it!"

            "When you've got Merle, head back to the ship."  Amano told them.  "We'll met you there with Van."

            Hitomi stopped, realizing that she would have no idea what was going on with Van's recovery.  It scared her.  Yosu grabbed her elbow.  "Hey!  Hitomi!"

            She breathed again, and everyone dismissed her panic as the same old lovesickness.  Amano smiled a warm smile at her.  "Don't worry, Hitomi, we'll take good care of him."

            She nodded and Gadess and Amano marched off down one hallway.  Yosu looked to his two Fanelian uniformed companions.  "Okay, we get to the dungeons, and ask them…"

            "Order them, your majesty."  Koneko corrected, as casual as if they were going to class at school.

            "Order them…" Yosu complied, "to release Merle."

            "What if they ask why?"  Hitomi thought aloud.

            "The word of Daiji and company is all over this place."  Yosu replied.  "We'll say we wanted to get Merle for the audience."

            "YOU'LL say YOU wanted…" Koneko pointed out again.

            "And that's sort of weak.  Say Daiji requested her."  Hitomi suggested.

            "Okay, what was Daiji's alias?"  Yosu asked.

            "Oooo…something with a 'B'."  Koneko said, frowning.

            "Sir Biao."  Hitomi answered.  "And Jiai is Fu and Yukari is Yuan."

            "Whoa!"  Koneko said.  "Good memory!"

            "Let's hope yours is the same."  Yosu said to his sister.  He looked at the two of them with determination.  "Let's go."

            The true Van was on his throne with Ayen Nadeje on his left.  The throne room was abuzz with servants and soldiers anxious to see this royal consort.  Hoden arrived and lead the three mock-dignitaries into the room.  The throne room of Fanelia was dramatically different from that of Asturia.  While high ceilinged like Millerna's court, the room was much shallower, only about a third of the size of the cavernous region of the Asturian palace.  And were the stone columns and open arches made Millerna's throne room seem airy and giant, Van's was closed and wooden with thick posts reaching up to cushion the ceiling.  Van's throne was elevated and he leaned forward to watch them approach between the crowds of advisors, palace servants, and Fanelian and Asturian soldiers.  Ayen leveled her eyes at Daiji suspiciously, her hand reaching up and finding the pendant around her neck.  She felt like there was something wrong.

            Hoden stopped and bowed.  Half coaching and half intuition dropped the consort to one knee, his head bowed.  Yukari and Jiai followed his lead and curtsied to the floor, remaining there until he signaled them to rise.  He waited, his eyes on no one, listening to Hoden's introduction.  The second in command straightened and addressed the king.  "Your majesty, Sir Biao, Asturia-Egzardia consort to Queen Aston has arrived."

            "I don't remember hearing anything about a consort."  Van said.

            Yukari stared stiffly at a point on the rug and Jiai struggled hard to keep form looking up.  Hoden continued.  "He still requests audience, sir."

            "Thank you, Commander."  Van said.  Daiji raised his head as Hoden bowed and moved off into his hall.  The king looked to the man on the floor.  "Welcome, Sir Biao.  Explain why Queen Millerna sent you."

            Daiji got to his feet, followed shortly by the two girls.  "I was to meet the recent deployment of soldiers but was delayed a day due to repairs.  I have come to receive word on the adequacy of Asturian Aid to your kingdom."

            "Millerna sent someone of your importance for that?"  Van asked, still skeptical.

            "I am one of several consorts to Egzardia."  Daiji answered.  "I was on my way back to my post there, but was rerouted by the Queen to audience with you."  Van gave him an unconcerned look and the true Daiji glimmered through the mask.  "She is very concerned about you, your majesty.  The Queen is afraid that your palace's unfinished stated equals an insufficient amount of security for your person and your kingdom.  I am just to confirm that she's done enough for you."

            Van bought it now; he leaned back in the chair.  "Sounds like Millerna."  Ayen cast him a quick look.  Her uncertainty was still obvious and she couldn't believe he accepted a stranger so easily.  Yukari started when she got her eyes on Ayen.  She did resemble Hitomi very strongly, but more telling was what she saw in Ayen's face: desperation.  The girl on the throne set her appalled expression with a new look of determination and shot her eyes back to the three below.  She caught Yukari's stare dead on, causing a strange, suspended feeling to rise in Yukari's head.  She felt dislodged, like she had a fever, and wobbled off balance a little, recovering sharply.  Ayen's green eyes nearly forced Hitomi's face to mind.  Staring at her, the Earther could nearly see the ghost of Hitomi hang about the girl's head.  She closed her eyes and snapped her head away, trying to get the vision out.  Ayen furrowed her brow and stared at her still.

            In the back, Hoden made his way out and into the hall.  He saw Gadess and Amano making their way up the corridor, nodded to them, and headed into a room off to the side.  In a couple minutes, the two of them marched inside to meet him.  Once in, they shut the door.  Amano slouched against it and sank down.  "Man!  This is harder than I thought!"

            "We had to fake our way past three sets of guards."  Gadess reported.  "They stopped us every time.  The Fanelians really must be tired of having your men around."

            "My men are equally as tired."  Hoden reported.  "They are tired of following the orders of the Fanelian officials."

            "So is everything going okay?"  Amano asked.  "Yukari and Daiji, and Jiai are alright?"

            "They're doing fine."  Hoden answered.  "How are the others?"

            "When we left them all was in order."  Gadess replied.

            "Are you ready?"  Hoden asked.

            "We'll take care of it."  Gadess assured.

            "I'll go and get him."  Hoden stated.

            "Right. Right. Down…"  Koneko verbally directed as she lead her two teammates through the winding red and mahogany hallways.  They reached the bottom of the stairs, the two dressed as soldiers in front.  Yosu checked up and down the hall, letting his Van-ness slide a bit.  "Neko, are you sure you know where you're going?"

            "Sure, Yosu!"  Neko grinned, walking backward.  "Right. Right.  Down.  Left.  Long Hallway.  Down. Right!"

            "Good, now lead us there without talking."  Yosu told her. "We're still undercover you know."

            "Ah, don't sweat it."  She answered.  She came to another intersection. "LEFT!!!"

            "We're doomed."  Yosu said.

            "Don't give up yet."  Hitomi assured them, but she still had the bad feeling she'd gotten before.  It was as if she was expecting something to go wrong and she could still sense a feeling of death hanging around this operation.  Not being able to keep track of Van was killing her.  She had no choice but to follow Koneko as she made her way about.  They turned the corner and the twelve-year-old ran ahead, her helmet slumping to one side.

            "Long Hallway!!!"

            "Doesn't she understand the danger we're in?"  Yosu demanded.  "Neko!  Get back here!  You're gonna get caught!"

            "Don't freak out!"  Koneko called back.

            "Seriously!"  Hitomi agreed with the 'king'.  "Who knows who can hear you!?  You're blowing our cover!  Please settle down and get back in formation!"

            "Okay, okay."  She sauntered back.  "But you're taking the fun out of it."

            Hoden ran into the throne room in a panic.  "Your Majesty!  Your Highness!  King Van!"

            Van straightened.  "What is it!?!"

            "You are needed!  Hurry!"  He answered.  

            Gambero, the Fanelian captain of the Palace Guard stepped forward between the Asturian and the throne.  "What is it Hoden!?!  Don't disturb the king while he's in the middle of an audience!"

            "This requires the king's immediate attention!"  Hoden answered.

            "What's Wrong!?!"  Van roared, impatiently. 

            Hoden had come prepared.  He knew exactly what to say to get Van to accompany him. "It is your brother's gravesite!"

            Van was on his feet in an instant.  "Folken!?!"

            "Someone's vandalized it!  I felt I needed to tell you."

            Van was exasperated.   His bare shoulders were shaking with shock and fury.  "W-Why was there no guards!?!  How could this happen!?!" 

            "I don't know sir!  I've sent a squad down already-!"

            "Nevermind!"  The king leapt down from the throne platform in a single bound.

            Gambero stepped forward.  "Your Highness!"

            "Stay Captain!"  He shouted as he passed.

            Ayen jumped up too.  "Van!"  But he didn't hear her.  He charged straight past Daiji and company on his way out the door with Hoden.  He'd reacted just the way the man had expected and as soon as he was out the door, Hoden grabbed him and threw him inside the meeting room to Amano and Gadess.  The larger man covered his mouth as Hoden closed the door behind, leaving no trace of where they'd been for those in the hall.

            Inside, Ayen stood uncertainly.  She stared about at the stunned room, looking from Gambero to the door, and finally stepping with a hard and accusing eye on Daiji.  He stood with his arms folded, waiting for someone to notice that he and his party were still there.  Jiai tried to hold the same level of detachment as him, but Yukari was stuck.  She hadn't been able to focus on anything for the past five minutes but trying to get the image of Ayen out of her head.  Ayen looked to her, her head being held in one trembling hand and her eyes purposely avoiding the fourteen-year-old's gaze.  That settled it.  Ayen knew that these three had something to do with this…it was all a plot to spoil Trapan's plan.  That's when she realized: The Eyes!  Her double must be there too.  But where?  She felt like she had to keep an eye on the "consorts", but was that more important than keeping track of Van?  For the sake of both she and her father, she had to follow the king.  She remembered Trapan saying that if anything happened to Van, they would be punished.  Ayen had no time to lose.  Following Van, the girl bolted for the door.  The already shocked crowd saw her out with their eyes.  She hit the door and threw it open with her shoulder.  "Van!  VAN!!!"

            The palace hanged dramatically in just turning a corner and going down the stairs.  Koneko had guided the Merle team to the prison of Fanelia castle.  The dungeon, like the palace, was mostly wood, but the cells themselves were made of fitted stone and iron rods.  Hitomi paused on the stairs, causing the other two to stop, Yosu behind her and Koneko turning to look from in front.  "What's up, Hitomi?  Everything okay?"

            The girl had had another wave of uncertainty wash over her, and a growing thought was swelling in her head.  This was a desperate time.  It was as if she had just realized the danger they were in, even though she'd known it all along.  Her senses became alert for any new stimuli.  Her heightened ears picked up a voice from down the stairs.  It was young, and faint, but she heard it clearly as it let out a long sad sob.  "Lord Van!?!"

            "I hear her!"  Hitomi reported.

            "Merle!?!"  Koneko asked, excited.  "You hear her!?"  

            "She's still locked up."  Hitomi answered.  "She's calling for Van."          

            "She's calling for Yosu."  Koneko said.  "I'm so excited!  Let's go and get her out now!"

            "We're going to have to talk to guards."  Yosu said. "Be professional"

            "Okay, okay, let's go."

            Hitomi tightened up and went down in formation step by step.  The closer they got to the bottom, the clearer Merle's forlorn and pleading voice.

            "Lord Van!?!"

            Sure enough, at the bottom of the stairs, a prison guard was posted.  He looked up indifferently, gruffer than the normal Fanelian solders and seemingly tired of Merle's whining.  "Whaddaya want?"

            "I am King Van.  I want you to release Merle."  Yosu replied, shortly and sharply.

            Down the hall, the cat ears on the thirteen-year-old girl perked up, recognizing his voice.  She jumped up against the bars, straining to see.  "Lord Van!?!"

            "Your Majesty!"  The guard said, coming to attention.  "I had no word you were coming!  I expected you to be audiencing with that guy!"

            "Word or not, I want you to let her out."  Yosu replied.

            "Of course!"  The man said.  "I'll get her out."  He sauntered down the line of cells.  "It's strange.  When your girlfriend threw her in here, she made it sound like you never wanted to see her again."

            "My business is my own."  Yosu said, pointedly.  

            As they stopped, Hitomi spotted Merle's large blue eyes peering out at them.  Her face was worn, and blackened with long-suffering and lost hope.  Still, the large ears poked up through her pinkish hair and her face shone with the sight of Yosu coming to her.  "Lord Van!  You came to get me!  I knew you didn't mean it!  I knew it was all that chick's fault!  I knew you'd come and get me!"

            Yosu had gathered from the guard that Van's attitude toward the girl had turned cold, so he dropped his head, although inside, he would feel how happy Merle was to see him.  She really was very much like Neko.

            Koneko, this moment finally come, was nearly bouncing in anticipation.  Hitomi was sure that if the twelve-year-old girl had a tail, it would be whipping back and forth anxiously.  Merle's dark brown striped tail was moving about under her smock-like dress as she watched the key slide into her lock and the door swing open.  The minute her way was free, the girl sprung form the cage like a bird and threw her arms around Yosu, tears on her furry cheeks.  "Lord Van!  Lord Van!  I knew you'd come!  I knew it!"  It only took her a second to notice that he wasn't returning her sentiments.  She stopped mid-cuddle and pulled back form him, a studious look on her face.  "Hey!  Something's up here!"

            Yosu knew that the girl was about to blow their operation wide open and those cells along his left and right did not look very inviting.  He snapped his head to the guard.  "Leave us a moment!"

            "Of course sir!"  The guard took off, moving back to his spot against the wall near the entrance.

            Merle continued her inspection.  She sniffed at Yosu with her cat sense of smell, and circled around him, checking him from all angles.  "Hm… It looks like Lord Van, it smells like Lord Van, it sounds like Lord Van, but what's weird about it - for some reason, you're not Lord Van!"

            "You're right."  Hitomi said.  She took off her Fanelian helmet and Merle took a start, her ears springing up.  "Hi Merle, it's me, Hitomi."

            Merle was not nearly as pleased to see her as Hitomi thought she would be.  The cat girl conducted much the same inspection of her as she'd done of Van.  "You say you're Hitomi?  Are you the REAL Hitomi or Fakey Hitomi?"

            "I'm the real Hitomi."  The girl answered, warily, not expecting to have to defend her identity.  Merle grabbed a chunk of her hair and pulled on it.  Hitomi flinched and grabbed her wrist.  "Ow!  Stoppit!"  The cat girl got up in her face and stared at her sharply.  

            Finally a verdict: Merle hopped back to the souls of her feet and smiled.  "You ARE Hitomi!!  You've got her hair and you talk like her too!"  She jumped and gave Hitomi a quick hug.  "Hitomi came to rescue me from Fakey Hitomi!  Hooray!"  Then she turned to Yosu.  "Then who's Fakey Lord Van?"

            "This is Yosu…"  Hitomi introduced.  "He's dressed as Van so that we could get you out."

            "Where'd you get him?"  Merle asked.  "He's almost exactly like Lord Van!"

            "That's a long story."  Hitomi said.

            Koneko couldn't stand it anymore and jumped forward.  "Hey!  I'm Koneko!  You're the cat girl I'm connected to!  We finally got you out of jail!"

            "Whowhat?"  Merle asked.

            Yosu interrupted.  "We'll explain later.  For now, let's get out of here and back to the Thysia."

            "Right."  Hitomi agreed.

            "Wait!  What about REAL Lord Van!?!"  Merle cried.

            "Gadess and Fakey Allen are taking care of him."  Koneko replied.  "They're meeting us on the ship!"

            "Lord Van's being rescued too!"  Merle said with elation.  "This is a dream come true!  Let's get to that ship!"

            Hitomi sighed.  At least Merle was fee and would cooperate.  She wondered about Van, though.  Would he agree so easily?  That feeling was in her again.  She took a deep breath and replaced her helmet.  She couldn't worry about it now.  She had to get her side of the plan finished and let Gadess and Amano do their jobs, even without her help.

            Amano threw his helmet off as Gadess released the king from his grip  Van whirled around, reaching for the sword he'd neglected wearing since Ayen had arrived.  As his hand grasped around nothing, he could nearly see it lying across a chair in his room.  He gritted his teeth and set his brown eyes ablaze, staring daggers through Gadess.  "Who are you!?!  Are you the vandals!?!  I'll kill you!"

            "Don't worry, your highness."  Hoden assured. "There aren't any vandals."

            "What!?!"

            "Chill out."  Amano said.  "We just need to talk to you!"

            "Who are you!?  This is a crime!  Kidnapping a king!  I'll have you all celled!"  Van whirled around, trying to keep an eye on all of them at the same time.

            Gadess took off his helmet.  "Don't think us wrong, but this is the only way we could think of to get you alone."

            Van stopped.  "Gadess?"  He dropped his guard and looked more hurt than enraged.  He looked to Amano and Hoden.  "So you told me someone was desecrating my brother's grave only to get me out of the throne room!?!"

            "You told him WHAT!?!"  Amano cried, staring accusingly at Hoden.

            "How else would I get home out and alone?"  Hoden defended.  "It was all I could think of that would work the first time.  He would never come if I changed my story while he sat there!"

            "Why didn't you just say 'King Van, I need to speak with you alone' or something!?!"  Amano cried.  "That's the most coldhearted thing I've ever heard.  You don't tell someone a lie like that!  It's disgusting!"

            "We're sorry for what Hoden said to you, Lord Van."  Gadess said.  "But believe me, we would never have tried to trick you if it wasn't truly important."

            "I'd never listen to anyone who told me a lie.  Especially a lie like that.  Except that it's you, Gadess.  Is Allen involved in this?"

            Gadess nodded.  "Allen is involved.  He is waiting in Chesario with Queen Millerna, his sister, and two others."

            "That's a lie.  Millerna is in Asturia.  She just sent that man here to meet with me, and the Maginot to assist my defenses!"

            "Daiji, Jiai, and Yukari are with us."  Amano said.  "They made up that story to divert the guard's attention away from the rest of us."

            "The rest – ?"  Van asked.

            "There is another team freeing Merle from your dungeon."

            "Merle!?"  Van seemed like he'd just realized Merle had been absent from his side.  "Merle…was in the dungeon…how?"

            "This is a big deal."  Amano said.  "The girl you think is Hitomi has been hypnotizing you with the power of Atlantis."

            "How can you make an accusation like that?  Especially against Hitomi!"  Van cried.

            "We've got the REAL Hitomi."  Gadess said.  "She brought with her eight people from the Mystic Moon to help you."

            "I – what?"  Van was confused and bombarded.

            Amano stepped forward.  "I came with her.  He's telling the truth."   

            Van finally gave Amano his full attention.  "Who are you?"

            "My name is Amano Susumu, I go to school with Hitomi on Earth."

            "Amano…"  Van racked his memory for the name.  "I've heard that name before."

            "Probably when Hitomi talked about Allen."  Amano answered.  "I'm connected to him.  She mistook me a couple times for Allen the same way she mistook Allen for me.  She'll explain the whole thing to you when we hook up again."

            "I remember!"  Van announced.  "You're exactly right!  Hitomi did mistake Allen for a boy named Amano a lot of times.  She would always talk about the Mystic Moon."  He thought.  "She hasn't talked about the Mystic Moon at all since she's been here…"

            "Hitomi's probably already on the Thysia."  Gadess stated.  "And we need you to come with us."

            "You want me to desert my country!?"  Van cried.  "Again!?!"

            "It's more important than you know."  Amano assured.  "There's some bad stuff going on.  I think we've decided that it's some sort of world domination plot or something.  The point is you're being used.

            "Used."

            "The girl you think is Hitomi."  Hoden clarified.  "She's using you to control Fanelia."

            He seemed struck down, dumbfounded, and confused.  "I don't know what's right or not anymore!"  Van ran a gloved hand through his disheveled black hair.  "I'm confused."

            "Believe us."  Amano insisted.  "We've got to go and get back to Chesario.  We'll explain everything on the way, once we're all together again. Just seeing us all will probably explain it to you."

            Van took a deep breath, his judgment hindered.  He doubted, now, the identity of the girl he'd been living with for the past month.  The more he remembered Hitomi, the less this girl seemed like her.  His heart was torn.  "My better judgment is telling me not to go.  I can't leave the country again, not after all that happened before when I left.  Still my gut tells me to believe you and leave.  I'm just not sure which one to obey."

            "Your country will be fine."  Hoden assured.  "I'll see to that."

            "I don't know if I like you!"  Van accused.  

            "Come on, hurry."  Amano pressured.  "We've got to go!"

            "Millerna has been shoved from her own country."  Gadess recalled.  "This is better fro the long run.  We'll come back when we figure out what's going on.  We might be facing another series of events like what happened earlier."

            "Alright!"  Van agreed finally.  "Alright!  I'll go!"

            "Glad to hear it."  Gadess sighed.  "My cousin's airship is parked in the woods out back.  We'll meet up there with the others."

            "Let's go."  Amano ushered.  "We've got to get out of here.  My nerves are shot."  He turned to Hoden.  "Make sure Yu and the others get out safe.  And do a better job then you did for this."

            "Roger that."  The mustached man nodded.  Amano and Gadess replaced their helmets and took off for the back door with the King in escort.

            Ayen shot through the halls.  She knew the way Van would have to go to get out to the Royal Cemetery, but in her frenzy, she couldn't find the right halls.  The posted soldiers still asked no questions as she ran around and around the maze of formal corridors.  Portraits of the king, his family, his friends, his advisors and other monarchs of the past seemed to be staring at her. In every face she could see Trapan glaring down at her, his teeth bared, ready to eat her alive.  She was mortally frightened of that man, and remembering his threats from the night before made her search for Van just that much more desperate.  "Van!?!  VAN!?!"  The soldiers stared on.  It was as if they were against her, too. None of them spoke a word to help her in her search.  Her stomach clenched so tightly she could feel it in her throat.  Panic stripped her of any self-control and she forgot about where she was supposed to be going.  Her Hitomi-green eyes darting madly, she raced about the halls.  "VAN!?!"

            Yukari was feeling detached from herself.  She could barely feel her own hand on her eyes as she saw again and again Hitomi and Ayen on the same head and in the same face.  It was like…seeing two sides of the same mirror.  The more she thought about it and tried to figure it out or forget about it, the more disconnected she felt until finally she realized something; the last time she had witnessed something like this happening was sitting in her living room when she'd seen Allen…and with that, she was gone.

            Jiai let out a scream as a pale, glazen eyed, Yukari collapsed to the red throne room carpet, dead to the world.  Daiji spun around, dropping the act, more important matters at hand.  He pulled her head up off the floor and held her in one arm.  Jiai stooped over his shoulder.  "Yukari!  Daiji what happened!?"

            "Its another one of those connection relapses!"  Daiji announced, checking her pulse.  "this isn't good.  How'd they bring her back before?  Call her name!"

            "Yukari!"  Jiai called.  "Yukari!!!"

            "Yukari!"  Daiji shook her and gained no response.  He looked up sharply to the crowd, some advancing toward them.  "This isn't working.  We need to get her out of here now!"

            "How!?"  Jiai cried.

            "Hey!  What's going on!?!"  Gambero called, running forward.

            Daiji quickly grabbed her up.  "Run, Jiai!"

            "But – "

            "We can't explain this!  Run!"

            Her heart pounding, the girl with the blackish curls ran to the back door.  Daiji was right behind her, his arms full.  Yukari's head bounced against his arm, her brown eyes milky and frozen wide.  Gambero suspected something the minute they bolted.  "Hey!?!  Get back here!"

            The hallway stretched before them.  Jiai lead, trying hard in a fevered panic to remember which way they had come.  She ran in her borrowed dress down the hall in the opposite direction Amano and Gadess had taken.  The stone-faced guards stood like statues.  She didn't realize that hey were even alive.  An intersection: Jiai's aquamarine eyes were watching in fear and desperation.  Gambero's yells could be heard behind them.  Left.  She darted about.  Was that painting familiar or did she just wish it were?  Daiji's hat came undone and fell off, his wavy hair falling into his face and down his back.

            The captain of the guard alerted those along the walls.  "Men!  Get them!"

            The soldier statues previously thought to be decoration sprang into action, heeding their commander's orders in their own frenzy.  Jiai skidded to a stop as a line approached from up the hallway.  "Ahhh!  Surrounded!"

            "Not yet."  Daiji ran past, his speed the same.  He barreled through the line of soldiers, slamming one to the floor with his shoulder.  He had to stop and balance himself.  "JIAI!"

            "Coming!"  They kept running, guards behind them and time running out for the girl in the man's arms.

            Amano, Gadess, and Van had no idea anything was going on.  They passed out the back doors with little question.  All Van had to do was scowl at them and the guards backed off.  He wasn't exactly in the most pleasant mood at the idea of leaving.    Hoden had headed back to escort the diversion team back out of the palace, and the king and company picked through the woods.  Before long, the Thysia was in sight, it's Levi-stones protruding from the treetops and its extended wings slicing through the branches.  Philos was waiting on the gangplank, his weak chin in his hands and his knot fraying.  He jumped up when he spotted them.  "Gadess!?  Have you got him!?"

            "Mission Complete."  Gadess answered.

            Amano tore off his helmet.  "Thank goodness!"

            "Philos, this is King Van of Fanelia."  Gadess introduced.  "Lord Van, this is my cousin Philos Hroas."

            Philos bowed.  "Your Highness."

            "Mr. Hroas."  Van greeted, without enthusiasm.

            Philos straightened.  "Philos if you would, your highness."

            "Van."  Van corrected.  "Where is Hitomi?"

            "They aren't back yet."  Philos answered. "You three are the first team.  Did everything go well?"

            "Perfect."  Gadess answered.  "Like clockwork."

            Amano sank down against a tree.  "I'm not cut out for that.  Running a race for competition is one thing, but sneaking around all over….I thought I was gonna have a heart attack or something.!"  He glanced over his shoulders into the trees.  "I hope Yukari's okay."

            "I hope they all are."  Philos said.  "I know how you feel, Amano.  My nerves are about shot as well."

            Yosu, Koneko, Merle and Hitomi were leaving at about the same time as Ayen had started searching and Yukari had suffered her attack.  The guards at the back door stopped them.  "Your Highness!?  Where are you going at this time of night!?"

            "My business is my own."  He replied, employing his all-purpose royal excuse.  "Let us pass."

            "Yes sir!"

            The assemblage marched out and through the grounds until they reached the forest.  There the young man sighed heavily.  "We made it."

            "Its so great to be free!"  Merle cried, jumping.  "I haven't been outside for weeks!  I love it!"

            "You remember the way to the ship, don't you Neko?"  Yosu asked.

            Koneko jumped back.  "I was supposed to keep track of that too!?"

            Yosu hung his head "Oh boy"

            "Don't worry, Yosu!"  Koneko reassured.  "I'll find it!  It may be dark and in a forest, but a ship the size of the Thysia can't be THAT hard to find can it!?"

            Yosu glanced back to her.  "That's not all that reassuring, you know that."  

            Hitomi stepped through he first two trees and suddenly stopped.  She felt more uncertain than ever and had an overwhelming urge to find Van.  Something had happened to him, she was sure.  She stared back at the castle like it was a looming monster, hungry for him.  He was in danger and she knew it.  Perhaps she could stop Yosu and connect him to see if Van was all right.  She glanced to the other three, but they were already far ahead, becoming lost in the trees and underbrush.  She had to take care of this herself.  All her fifteen years of better logic eluded her and she took off at her sprinter's pace back towards the castle.

            Jiai and Daiji had found the entrance at last!  A palace full of guards were on their tails, but once through the main gate, they would have no problems making their way back through the woods.  The soldiers in pursuit saw them disappear out the main doors, the gate guards rushing after them.  Gambero's voice shouted over them.  "They must be headed for the hangar!  We need Melef support!  Get out the Maginot!"

            The pilots were raced word, and in turn dashed to the Asturian mecha without fail.  Seguir watched them enter from where he sat on the shoulder of the Pravada in thought.  He'd slid down to the cockpit when he heard the commotion.  "What's going on here!?"

            "Orders from Captain Gambero."  One pilot shouted.  "There's been an intrusion!  He wants us to take action immediately!"

            "Intruders!?!"  Seguir was hit with dread.  "The Eyes!  Ayen!?!"  He leapt down to the ground and shouted up to the pilots who were strapping into their suits.  "Don't let anyone escape!  Find every one of them!  Do everything you have to to keep them from getting away!"

            "Yessir!"

            Seguir dashed up a stairway and out into the hall.  He had to find his daughter!   Trapan knew what was going on, he was sure.  He knew all along that this was going to happen.  He winced at the thought of what Trapan would do if he found Ayen first.  This was severe.  Large white and blue Guymelefs moved out of their hangar, their feet thundering and their short swords drawn.  The quakes shook the dust off a kneeling suit not far down the hill…

            Daiji weaved his way through the forest, working his way blindly back to the ship.  Jiai was trying hard to match his pace, the sounds of scrambling machinery behind them.  "D-Daiji!"

            "There it is!"  He broke through the underbrush and was confronted by four curious faces.

            "What's going on!?!" Philos cried.  "What happened!?"

            Amano sprang up when he saw was Daiji was carrying . "Yukari!?!"

            Daiji rushed her to him.  "Its-"  he was panting hard, "Its another arrest!  Like before!"

            Amano took her up and laid her on the ground, her face and shoulders held tight against his chest.  "Yu!?  YU!?!  Yukari come on!!!  Yukari!  Snap out of it!!!"

            "Daiji!?"  Gadess accused.  "What happened!?"

            "We made a run for it!"  He answered.  "We had to split.  She passed out right in the throne room!  We couldn't wait around to answer questions!"

            "Yukari!?!   Yukari wake up!"  Amano pleaded.  "Don't let this be for real!!!  Come back!  You can't die!  You can't!  Please!"  Tears were running down his face.  "Please!  Yukari!?!  It's Amano!  Come back to me!!!"

            Jiai gasped and the others turned as the fogginess faded and the brown eyes blinked.  Yukari moved her head and looked to the face of the man that was holding her.  "Amano?"

            "Yukari!?!"  He hugged her tight.  "Oh my gosh!  Yukari, you're alright!"

            "We've got to get out of here now!"  Daiji pressed.  "They've got ton-a guards after us and big fatty robots all over the place!  They find us, they're gonna cream us to a pulp!"

            "But the other team isn't back yet!" Philos said.

            "Everybody get on board."  Gadess directed.  "We'll take off as soon as they get here!"  Everyone thought that was a good plan but Van.

            "Wait!"  He cried.  "We cant!"

            "We can't afford to wait out here!"  Gadess said.

            "Don't worry your highness!"  Philos called.  "If everything gets warmed up, I can take her off in an instant!"

            "I'm staying on the ground!"  Van answered.  "When Hitomi comes back, I'll be here to meet her!  If something goes wrong, take off without me!"

            "Van!?!"  Gadess cried.

Suddenly, there was a rustle and the King turned as the bushes stirred behind him.  HE stepped forward to find himself face to face with himself.  Yosu looked up from the brush and met his own eyes, the most bizarre feeling rose about the two of them.  He was cut and his wig was pulled askew, several spiky orange bangs sticking down over his face.;  the two of them were frozen at first sight.  Van tried to move, but couldn't, he was transfixed by this perfect likeness of himself.  It was broken by Koneko who shoved Yosu sharply from behind.  

            "Hey!  Move!"

            Merle caught sight of Van and bounded out of the trees and into his arms.  "Lord Van!  You're free!"

            "M-Merle!"  Van cried as she purred and rubbed her face into his red tunic.  This was a warm feeling he'd forgotten, and he smiled, forgetting for a moment the danger they were in.  He gave his devoted friend a hug back. "Hi, Merle, I'm happy to see you free again."

            "Mmm!"  She was overflowing with happiness.  "Lord Van!"

            Suddenly he snapped his head up. "Where's Hitomi?"

            Yosu and Koneko looked dumbstruck.  "Hitomi!?"  They whirled around.

            Koneko ran a little ways back into the trees.  "Hitomi!?!"

            "She was right behind us, right!?"  Yosu demanded, feverishly.  "She made it out of the castle!?!"

            "She's not here!?"  Van cried.

            "I don't see her anywhere!"  Koneko called back.  "Is she lost?"

            "I'm going to find her!"  Van announced, heading into the woods.

            "I'm coming too!"  Yosu cried, tearing off the wig.  Van cast him a short tempered glance, but made no objections.  The orange-haired boy turned to the two girls.  "Get in the ship!  We'll be back with Hitomi!"    

            "But Yosu - !?!"

            "Lord Van!?!"

            Koneko and Merle watched them disappear.  The younger girl grabbed the cat's arm.  "Come on, Merle, let's do what he said!"

            Hitomi cowered along the palace wall, her short brown hair stuck against her face with sweat.  Her helmet had been discarded long ago, and the world around her had exploded with malevolent activity.  She made her was in the cover of night around to the unfinished section of the castle.  Soldiers were heard shouting from in front and behind the tremor of the ground under the feet of the Maginot made her blood run cold.  She remembered the sight of the mech suit following them in the Crusade, of the visions of the past where mecha rained destruction, but most of all, her reoccurring dream of being chased down and captured by Guymelefs.  She remembered how there never was rescue from those dreams: it scared her to death.

            She snuck around the corner of the unfinished wall, blue moonlight pouring over her face.  She spotted the massive body of one of the Asturian melefs through the angled wooden planks of the scaffolding.  She hurried inside the skeleton of the palace, her heart and mind set on finding Van.  The Maginot searched the ground for one of the intruders to suddenly appear.  The 15-year-old girl found a hallway just inside.  Most of the lanterns and candles were blown out and those still lit flickered with the pounding footsteps.  She stood in the doorway and looked down both halls, not knowing which way to go, but feeling the urgency.  She had to search fast.  "Van!?!"

            "VAN!?!"  

            Was that an echo or did Hitomi just hear her own voice call out Van's name?  She stopped to see, but her question was quickly answered as the voice came again, louder, and a fourteen-year-old with long red-brown hair and large green eyes ran around the corner.  She stopped dead and locked eyes with Hitomi, her limbs shaking with adrenaline and her heart pumping fast.  Ayen was glued to the eyes on Hitomi's face.  She stuttered with finalization.  "E-Eyes –"

            Hitomi stepped back toward the door, a strange fear like seeing a ghost installing in her the urge to run.  Her back braced against the plain wooden doorframe.  Ayen's pair of eyes brimmed with tears.  "It was you!  This is all your fault!  All of it!  It was you all along!"  Her lip quivered and her young, sleeveless shoulders shook in anger.  "I don't understand.  You're my double!  Me!  How could you!?  How could you be so cold hearted as to do something like this!?!  When you know how I feel – what kind of person must I be!?!"            Hitomi couldn't speak, watching this strange reflection of herself break down with tears and sobs, her fists clenched. "How could you!?!  HOW COULD YOU!?!"

            A great pound of Maginot landed very close, wood splintering and cracking outside Hitomi's door and strips of the scaffold falling.  Before Hitomi could do anything, a great hydraulic hand broke through the wall and the ceiling, pulverizing it and sending pieces flying.  Ayen covered her eyes and her Fanelian skirt flew out with the force.  A nightmare; Hitomi was taken up into the metal fist and off the ground.  A fire had started in the hall from a fallen lantern.  Up she rose, her body squeezed.  Her vision come true.  She screamed.  "VAAAAANNN!!!!!!!!"

            Van jumped at the sound of his name.  He darted out of the woods and into the grassy palace grounds.  Flame again was leaping from the roof of his home.  They framed a giant made of glinting metal.  The king could see from there, that it held a girl in its hand.  "HITOMI!?!"

            Yosu jumped out after him.  "Where is she!?!"

            "There!"  Van pointed, then directed Yosu back into the woods.  "Get back to the ship!  Tell them to take off!"

            "What are you going to do!?"  Yosu demanded.

            "There's only one way to save her!"  Van cried. "We'll catch up!  Just get the rest of you out!"

            "Right!"  Yosu disappeared.

            Van made his way down the hill.  There, the monuments of his mother, his father, and his brother stood undisturbed in a shaded cemetery.  Their peace was disturbed, now, especially for Folken, his tombstone catching the reflection of the flames from the battle at the castle and burning like a live ember in its light.  Van ran straight to his pinnacle and behind it.  The back of Folken's grave had grown over with vines and trees.  Van tore at the thorns until he'd cleared out a patch on the back.  There, a perfectly square panel waited, and hidden behind it, its weight falling and breaking a hole in the earth, was the blood-bound energist hidden by Van half a year before.  The king gritted his teeth as he reached in to remove it.  "I'm sorry, Brother, your dream of a world without this will never come true…"  Tightening his grip on the stone, he darted to the trees where the legendary Ispano Guymelef, Escaflowne kneeled silently.  Van held up the energist and light shone from his hand.  "Escaflowne!  I am bound to you by blood!  Awaken!"  He plunged his hand into the armor, the energist taking hold of the workings and casting pink light on the king's face.  With a groan, the hatch to the dusty melef dropped to permit Van inside.

            Yosu arrived back at the ship and jumped up the gangplank.  Gadess was waiting by the door.  "Yosu!?!  Where's Hitomi and Lord Van!?"

            "Take off!"  Yosu ordered.

            "What was that!?"  Jiai cried, hearing but not believing.

            "Take off NOW!"  Yosu roared.  Merle was sitting by the door, but took off up to the cockpit and yelled in to Philos.

            "Fakey Van says take off!"

            "Alright!"  Philos said, he threw a pair of heavy levers forward and the Thysia shot up into the sky.  Several Maginot spotted it and headed out, but they were taken by surprise and quartered by the long, razor sword of a glimmering white and green warrior, its purple cape flying with sparks off its blade on metal.  The people on the ship stared down.

            Koneko cried out. "What's that!?!"

            Gadess gasped.  "Escaflowne!"

            Van hacked at the Asturian soldiers, the Maginot falling on his way to Hitomi.  The suit with the girl in its hand slashed its short sword at him, but Van and Escaflowne were one.  He could nearly feel his blood flowing in the machine that extended from his body.  With a mighty slash, the sword-wielding arm of the other was severed from its torso.  Hitomi opened her eyes and saw the giant dragon armor attacking.  She gasped and flinched at each blow.  "VAN!?!"  The captor melef backed away, no match for this god of war.  He found the hand holding Hitomi ripped from the end of his arm.  The girl tumbled down, coming free of the hydraulic grip.  The flames consumed the ground below.  She shut her eyes and reached out.  Let this be her dream!  Let her winged savior come down to her one more time!   A Vision!  The winged man swooping to get her.  No rescue.  "VAAANN!!!!"'

            "HITOMI!?!"  Without a conscious trigger, Escaflowne folded in on itself, the head becoming a neck, the legs becoming a tail, the cape being stretched into dragon wings and Van up top with the reigns.  Hitomi fell down as he swooped under and was caught in his arms.  Escaflowne's wing destroyed a pair of scaffold beams, and brought down another fiery section of the uncompleted rood.  The dragon swooped up into the sky.  Destruction and flame were again plaguing his country and again he ran way, but Hitomi was lying across the dragon at his feet.  She looked up and passed out, her hair whipped about her face and her telling green eyes closed.  The carousel chases itself in a circle and around it goes.  This time he chased Chesario and the shape of the Thysia soaring along the horizon ahead.

To Be Continued….


	9. Episode 9: Delicateness

Escaflowne:   Mirrors 

Episode 9:  Delicateness 

            In the midst of victory, there is defeat.  For young Ayen Nadeje, the defeat was total.  Even as the embers in the unfinished wing of Fanelia castle still glowed, she'd shut herself in Van's bedchamber, awaiting punishment.  She sat at the foot of his bed.  Yells from soldiers still looking for the intruders, men putting out the fires and recovery teams for the wounded melefs mingled with her sobs in the dark night air.  Van's royal sword lay across her lap.  If he'd had it – maybe he wouldn't have run.  They got on so well… if he knew what he was doing to her by deserting, would he have gone?  Trapan would find her here eventually and tell her what he had down.  She was sure Seguir, her father, was already gone.  Whether he left that morning or stuck around to be killed didn't matter.  She'd never see him again.

            How long would the Master's Mage let her sit here?  Is the tortured anticipation part of the punishment?  Or was it just a reason for that slick oily grin to smear across his face?  She cried into her hand, one still on the sword.  A life devoted to the master?  Without her father?  Perhaps if Trapan left her alive, she'd kill herself on that blade before dawn.  No life is better than what prospects lay before her, now.  A slave.

            She heard the door open and close and held back her sobs.  So the time had come at last.  She could sense the presence of a man in the corner, his outline dark in the light of the moon.  She waited for his snakelike tongue to hiss her title and laugh as it delivered news.

            "Ayen?"

            She froze.  Instead of grease, it was music.  A voice full of love and youth.  One she expected only to hear in a dream or a memory.  "Daddy?"

            Seguir darted out of the darkness, the light hitting his green suit, strong build, and bronze hair like the windows of heaven had been thrown open.  His matching eyes held all the love and sincerity she would ever need.  Ayen sprang from the bed and into his arms.  This wasn't another vision.  She could tighten her arms around him and feel his heat on her face.  She smelled his scent and matched this feeling with countless memories of times she spent in his arms.  He took his daughter tightly into his embrace, his heart swelling with the long-elusive joy of being with her.  Trapan couldn't touch them now.  They were together and would stay together.  He'd make sure of it.

            Ayen stayed there as long as she could, soaking it in, but finally pulled back from him.  "Daddy!?!  How are you here!?"

            "I couldn't let Trapan get you."  He answered.

            "He threatened to…"  She couldn't make herself say it with him standing there.  Even the thought prickled the nerves in her back.  "He was going to – "

            "He'll never get us again."  Seguir resolved.  "Let's get out of here."

            "Escape!?"  Ayen cried.  "Daddy!?  How!?"

            "The Pravada's in the hanger."  Seguir answered.   "I'm supposed to be leaving, let's fly away from here."

            "Both of us?"  She asked.  Dare she dream it possible? 

            "No."  He nodded.  "Lets be free, Ayen.  We can go hide out for a while.  Maybe we can start over somewhere else!"

            "I want to!  I want to so much!"  She answered.  "But I'm afraid.  What will he do to us??"

            "He can't do anything if he can't find us!"  Seguir stated.  "Please, Ayen, trust me."

            "I trust you."  Ayen said, new hope springing for the first time in half a year.  "I missed you so much, Daddy!"  She threw herself back against his chest, crying with the new surge of emotion.

            He took a deep breath, his own eyes spilling tears with the joy of having his only treasure back.  "Oh, did I miss you!  I love you so much!"

            She wanted to choke out a response but was overcome.  Her father had said 'I love you', like when she was young and they played in the yard of their home, and her mother was there…  Oh the heartache that came with that joy.

            Seguir sniffed and rubbed his eyes on his sleeve.  "Come on, let's go."

            "Wait."  She went back to the bed, stooping to the floor to retrieve Van's sword, which had fallen off her lap when she'd stood.  "I want to bring this."

            Seguir sighed.  "Alright, you can have whatever you want, Ayen."

            "Let's go Daddy!  Let's get out of here forever!"

*                             Escaflowne                                  *

            Morning in Chesario was a new morning in life.  Again the party was traveling by wagon along the rain-wetted roads of the rice country.  The Thysia had passed Apiobathra and docked with the Crusade at Limari on the Asturian side of the Adynaton mountain range.  Allen had moved the Crusade to the nearby hanger the day before, making it so that a relatively short trek up the mountainside would grant them access to the ship.  Here in Kataphygio, young well-belted children in rain-shielding hats played in the puddles as their wagon passed.  The heartfelt warmth of this place was magnified for Hitomi, because now she was in the arms of her true love.  She'd woken up on board the Thysia that morning with everyone around her: safe. And Van's face was there.  Truly Van.  It had been the single happiest moment of her life.  Yosu, his orange spikes covering his eyes, had restrained himself.  No matter how he felt about Hitomi, he knew this was a moment of reserve for them.  He was, even now, watching them out of the corner of his eye, his little sister on his arm.     Hitomi snuggled against Van, his arm around her shoulders.  This was what she'd wanted for so long.  It was as if those seven months apart were nothing now.  They'd always been just like this, and would always be.  She closed her eyes and rested on his shoulder.

            Inside Van, however, things were not as certain.  His mind and heart had been with Hitomi for a month already.  Things were fuzzy, but slowly he was recollecting all the events stemming from her arrival at his front door.  He knew he loved the girl he was with right now…. He took one look at her and knew the month before had been a lie.  But how could his heart be so confused?  Was it that he was feeling guilty for his mistake?  How could he have thought anyone could match Hitomi?  And what else did he do under that strange influence?  It was like his memories had been shoved aside.  He liked to think that now that things were right, his conscience would go back to the way it was.  He chewed on his nagging emotion as the cart rattled on.

            Merle was sitting next to Yosu wearing much the same expression as him.  Both of them were surrendering what their hearts felt for what they knew had to be.  It was a difficult courtesy.  A level below, Amano and Yukari were sitting together.  The 17-year-old hadn't let Yukari go since the night before, afraid she might go under again.  Yukari was annoyed with his constant concern, but pleased with his affection and enjoyed his arm around her.  She pointed to a little beast child, a boy who was part rabbit, and laughed, trying to get Amano to agree to his cuteness.   Daiji was laid out with his eyes on the sky.  He sighed deeply.  His heart was longing for something, but he didn't know what.  All these couples aggravated it, and its sadness filled him like a mold.  He closed his eyes and wished for it to go away.  Jiai watched him.  She looked to Hitomi and Van, happy with each other, then watched the ground.  Her turquoise eyes looked up to Amano.  Love was in the air, but she was alone.  He tugged her heart, but she hadn't surrendered entirely to the ranks of Merle and Yosu.  She was next to Daiji.  There was a time only a couple days ago that she thought she'd never be as close as she was to this media idol, but here he was, and she couldn't tell if it was merely fandom, but she liked it there.  She checked herself as she glanced backward in his direction.  The look on his face startled her.  Why was it that he looked depressed at a time like this?  They had won.  They were safe in Kataphygio, where they would meet up with the other members of their party.  Still there it was, heartfelt sadness on the strong, tan face and in his greenish eyes.  She reached out and put a hand on his knee.  He looked up and felt a little better.

            On the very top were Gadess and his cousin.  Philos was driving the streets of his hometown.  He breathed the familiar air with quiet contentment.  The danger was past and he was coming home to his wife and his daughter, having reunited two young people with a love as sweet as his.  He could nearly taste it.  Gadess spotted the Hroas's little house on the corner and spoke the first words in several miles.  "There it is!"

            Philos handed his cousin the reigns and hopped off the tiered wagon.  He trotted through the puddles and hopped the front gate, arriving at the door at the same time as the wagon stopped in the street.  "Theia!  Theia!  We're back!"

            The woman rushed out, her fox ears rose to the sound of his voice.  "Philos!?"  He smiled at her and she ran out to hiss him, her tail sweeping about; a fox trait showing through.  "Oh thank goodness!  I didn't know when you'd come back!"

            "It was only a day."  Philos said, smiling, his hands still on her waist.

            She smirked at him, the fur on her face wrinkling on her forehead.  "Don't kid me like that!"  She gave him another hug.  "It was forever for me!  I didn't know where you were or what you were doing or if you were all right… I started cross-stitching and you know how long it's been since I cross-stitched!"

            "I missed you, too, Theia."  He said.  "And it did seem like a long time.  How's Eythy?"

            "Oh, she's fine."  Botheia answered.  "For all she knew, you were on another of your business trips.  Actually, this is the best time she's ever had.  She's never had two live-in friends before."

            As if prompted, the young fox-girl ran out of the house with Suru and Celena following her.  Celena stopped, seeing everyone there.  "Ah!"  She brightened up with pleasure.  "Big Brother!  Big Brother!"

            Allen appeared, his long blond hair looking slightly frayed over his royal blue and great puffing sleeves.  "Hitomi!?"

            "Allen!"  She smiled and hopped down, grabbing Van's hand and dragging him with her.  "Allen!  Look!  It worked!"

            Allen smiled broadly and bowed.  "Lord Van."  But they both knew that it was meant as heartily as if he were saying 'How ya doin'?  Long time no see'.  Van looked the same when he nodded his response.  "Sir Allen"

            "King Van!"  Botheia jumped back as she suddenly realized whose presence she'd been in.  She curtsied. "Your majesty."

            "Van!?"  Millerna appeared in the doorway.  She rushed out and threw her arms around the startled young man.  

            Van took a start and Botheia leapt back to her feet and her husband.  Hitomi giggled at the blank look on her boyfriend's face.  "M-Millerna?"

            Millerna jumped back off of him with a slight blush of embarrassment and giggled herself as Hitomi broke out into full laughter.  Van scratched the back of his head.  Jiai came in to he yard with the rest of the crew.  Millerna gave her a hug, too, and then Hitomi.  "I was worried about all of you!  I'm so glad you are all safe again!"

            Daiji stepped up and put his hands on his hips.  "Do I get a hug?"

            Millerna turned very rosy.

            "Well," Botheia spoke.  "Everybody come in!  Let's hear all about it!"  There were no objections and they soon found themselves back in the whitewashed living room.  Gadess took a seat next to Hitomi and Van, but left it often to explain important events.  Everyone else sat around them.  Not everyone had heard everything the other teams had done.  Once the group was acquainted, Philos began retelling.

            "We got to Fanelia about mid afternoon.   Gadess ran to go meet up with Hoden…"

            "And did Duvera cooperate?"  Allen asked.

            "He was more than willing."  Gadess answered.  "Anxious even.  All I had to do was mention your name, Boss, and he was on it in an instant."

            Allen swelled with pride.

            "We all got costumed up and split company…"  Gadess continued.

            "Wait, who's side's going first?"  Koneko asked, seated on the floor next to Merle.  

            "Let Gadess and Amano go."  Yukari suggested, her arm through her boyfriend's.  "Gadess is already talking."

            "Right." Gadess agreed.  "We were the Van team is you recall.  We entered the back with Hitomi, Yosu, and Koneko."

            "My guards let you in?"  Van asked.

            "We were in disguise."  Amano repeated.  "Gadess and me were Asturian guards and the girls were Fanelian guards.  Yosu, of course, was you?"

            "Hoden got us the uniforms."  Gadess informed them.

            "Mine was too big."  Koneko reported.

            They paid her little mind and let Gadess continue in the retelling.  "We split with them soon after we got inside.  Then Amano and I made it down the hall to outside the throne room where Hoden was waiting."

            "It wasn't easy."  Amano added, exasperated.  "We must have been pulled over fifty times and interrogated!  I was having a hard time holding it together!"

            "We didn't have problems like that." Hitomi said.

            "You had the king with you!"  Amano cried.

            "Plus, Hoden said the Fanelian solders didn't like the Asturian ones all that much."  Gadess concluded.  "But anyway, we met Hoden and waited for him to bring Van in so we could talk to him."

            "At that time he was audience-ing with us."  Daiji reported.

            "So how'd you get him out?"  Koneko asked.

            "They told me someone was defacing Folken's grave!"  Van cried.

            Hitomi was outraged.  "They didn't!"

            "They sure did!"  Jiai confirmed.  "We were there!" 

            Hitomi grabbed Van.  "That's awful!  How could they do that to you!?!"

            "How could you do that to him!?!"  Merle roared, one cat fang bared.

Amano went on the defensive, gesturing with his free arm.  "It wasn't us!  I'm with you!  I said the exact same thing!  I think it was about the dirtiest lie Hoden could have told him!"

            "It got the job done."  Allen said.

            Amano turned to him.  "You did NOT just say that!"

            "What!?"  Allen cried.  "I just said it got the job done I didn't say it was nice!!!"

            Amano shook his head.  "My gosh!"

            "Alright, Alright," Gadess moved on.  "Hoden did get Van out of the throne room and into our conference room."

            "I should imagine!"  Millerna said, exasperated.

            "You should have seen him."  Jiai affirmed.  "He nearly flew over our heads!"

            "He nearly ran over the palace guard."  Daiji said, more correctly.

            "Actually, Gambero's the captain."  Van reported.

            "I didn't like him."  Jiai recalled.

            "Well, it helps when he's chasing you all over the stupid castle!"  Daiji agreed.

            She shrugged.  Millerna jumped in. "Wait.  Why were you being chased?"

            Gadess came back in before any further explanation was provided.  "I'd like to know those details myself, but we'll get to that."

            "Yes, your highness," Botheia said, turning, her daughter back on her lap, "how could you believe anything they said after a lie like that?"

            "I don't know." Van answered.  "It really was a stupid move.  I mean, I believed that they were telling the truth but I should have never gone with them.  I know better now of course, but I acted really irresponsibly.  It was just a strong gut feeling that I should go."

            "It was probably your connection to Yosu."  Yukari suggested.  "Do you think it could work that way?"

            "Maybe."  Yosu said, indifferently.

            "Or it could have been Hitomi."  Millerna said.  "And the power of love."  She sighed.

            "First Atlantis, now love, you are just all-powerful, Hitomi."  Daiji joked.

            "I'm really not."

            "But Van agreed to come and we left."  Gadess finished.  

            "It was that simple?"  Botheia asked.

            "They were the first ones back."  Philos recalled.

            "Van could get us anywhere."  Amano said.  "The minute those stupid guards saw him, they jumped out of the way like a bunch of cowards!"  He seemed satisfied with this.  "The creeps, they deserved to be put in their place."

            "Heel boy."  Yukari bade, smugly.

            "So what happened with your group, Jiai?"  Millerna asked.  "Why were you running away?"

            "Our group was the coolest."  Yukari smiled.

            "It was also the hardest."  Jiai added.

            "And the one that failed the worst."  Daiji finished.

            "Well, what happened?"  Allen asked.

            "We were the diversion team." Daiji said, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.  "So Yu, Jiai, and I dressed up as pseudo-Asturian-Chesarian-Egzardian consorts and claimed to be investigating the quality of Asturian aid in Fanelia."

            "You did a good job memorizing those names."  Hitomi complemented.  "You were having trouble beforehand weren't you?"

            "He did a good job all around!"  Yukari said.

            "That's right!  Daiji should be in movies some day."  Jiai added.  "He fit into his part and didn't slip once!"

            "Thanks 'Ai."  Daiji said with a smile.  Jiai blushed; he hadn't given her a nickname yet.

            "Oh, but he's already famous, it just comes natural, it was nothing!"  Yukari mocked.

            Daiji couldn't help but be amused.  "Bah!"

            "So what failed so badly?"  Yosu asked.  "I apparently wasn't your acting."

            "Nah, it was worse than that."  Daiji said, becoming serious.  "Much worse."  A pause and everyone could feel the gravity.

            Hitomi's stomach clenched.  "What happened?"

            Amano tightened his arm around his girlfriend, knowing what was coming.  Daiji threaded his fingers and sighed.  "Yukari just…passed out."

            Hitomi jumped forward.  "You mean - !?"

            He nodded.  "It was another of her 'connected arrests'.  We were standing there, holding it together, then after Van left, she just collapsed."

            Amano hugged her a little closer and she looked at the floor, ashamed of being the weak link.  The audience held their questions, seeing the state she was in.  Daiji combed through his wavy bangs and continued.  "The act fell after that.  I mean, how am I supposed to worry about holding \character and Yu at the same time?  If I let her sit t here like that – she wasn't breathing, she'd die!  Plus everyone was watching and people were coming up… if she'd had a fainting attack or was physically sick or something, I would have let them take care of her and not blown it wide open.  Totally!  If she'd come down with something they could fix, then fix her and let's leave…but they couldn't fix an arrest like that, it was nothing they could have seen before!  And time wouldn't let us sit around for them to figure it out, so I picked Yu up and the three of us bolted."  Yukari listened with more interest.  She hadn't heard what had happened while she was out.  Daiji continued.  "The minute we left, we had the entire Fanelian army after us!  It was chaos!  There were guards coming from every direction, left, right, behind, in front.  We had to weave through 'em, knock 'em over; it was… it was like playing football!  I felt like a pro football player trying to get Yu to the end zone as fast as my heavily-belted butt could go!  It was total pandemonium until somehow we made it out the front doors and into those woods!"

            "But you made it out okay."  Millerna begged assurance.  "Everyone's okay?"

            "Yeah, thankfully."  Daiji replied.  "The soldiers didn't keep up with us in the woods, and Amano was there when we got to the ship.  Amano was the one who saved her life."

            "His voice."  Yukari muttered.  "Everything is dark and cold and swirling down, and hearing voices is really faint and far away, but Amano, I can feel his.  I can hold onto it and come back."  She leaned into him.  Allen scrunched his eyes to hide their moistening as he watched them.

            "I can't believe the connection ruined it!"  Hitomi cried, very concerned.  "And we don't even know who it is!"  She stared hard at her best friend.  "What started it, Yukari?"

            "I – "  She started, but she shut her eyes tight and buried her face in her boyfriend's blazer.  "I'm scared to think about it!"

            Amano's other arm came up around her. "Don't make her relive it, Hitomi, I don't want to either."

            "But we have to figure out what causes these arrests and who they are related to!"  Hitomi argued.  "We've been able to save her before, but who knows what will trigger it next!?!  And not to mention that whoever has established a contact with her is having very real problems!  We need to help them before something terrible happens to them, too!"

            Amano looked to the girl shivering in his grip, his heart breaking.  "I don't…maybe…."

            "Maybe later, Hitomi."  Allen answered instead.  "Later, after she's calmed down and all the stories have been told."  Amano looked to him, looking indecisive not knowing what Allen's concern or intentions were for.  Hitomi allowed herself to accept Allen's suggestion for now.  Yosu began to speak.  "We had no idea any of that was going on."

            "Neither did we."  Gadess announced.

            "I would have been there."  Amano assured.  "If I'd have known, I would have been there so fast – "

            "Let's not talk on it anymore."  Botheia suggested.  "We haven't heard Hitomi's side of the story yet.  We should let she, Yosu, and Koneko tell a while."

            "Good idea."  Millerna agreed.

            "Well," Yosu did the telling.  "We entered with Amano and Gadess, but broke with them.  We found our way down to the dungeons and got the guard to let Merle out.  Afterwards, we trekked out easily enough."  

            "It was fun!"  Koneko cried, all smiles.  "We got to walk through a real castle and be real spies!  We were undercover and everything!"

            "And Fakey Lord Van was really good!"  Merle added.  "I really thought Lord Van was there!  But it was Fakey Van all the time."

            "Well, he kid of is Van."  Hitomi started.  "You see…"

            "I know I know."  Merle said, disinterested, "they explained all about the "connections" thing to us on the boat!  Neko and Fakey Van are connected to me and Lord Van and blahdy blah."

            "I don't understand it, but I get it."  Van announced.  "If that's possible."

            "No on understands it."  Millerna said.  "It just is."

            "Hitomi brings mystery with her wherever she goes."  Allen said.

            "We need to figure that out, too."  Hitomi sighed.  "There has to be some reason why you all suddenly were connected to each other."

            "What I don't understand is where you went."  Yosu said to the girl.  "What happened, Hitomi?  Where'd you go when we were in the woods?  Didn't you follow us?"

            She looked at her knees, not comfortable with how his eyes were staring at her.  "No…I didn't follow you."

            "Why not!?!"  Koneko demanded.

            "I – I got side tracked."  She said.  "I went back to the castle to look for Van."

            "But you knew that Van was coming out with us!"  Gadess recalled.

            "I just wanted to find him!"  Hitomi shouted, becoming emotional as she remembered the fear and longing she'd felt.  "I couldn't stand it!  I felt like he needed me!  I was just – compelled to find him!"

            The king put one gloved hand on her shoulder.  "Hitomi."

            She looked at him and calmed down, putting a hand on his knee.  "I went back and the Asturian Melefs were taking the place apart looking for us.  There, I met – "  She didn't know what to call the girl she'd run into.  Ayen had her face, and her voice.  She moved like her and stood like her, but she was different too.  She was an enigma.  

            "Fakey Hitomi right?"  Merle or Koneko asked.  Hitomi looked up and saw it was the cat who'd spoken.  She nodded.

            Van became very interested.  "You saw her?"

            "She spoke to me…"  Hitomi stared at her hands.  She saw her own trembling eyes as if staring into a mirror and having the reflection moving differently than she was.  She heard her strangled cry as emotion grabbed her by the throat.  Hitomi knew she hadn't said the words, but her own voice rang in her head.  'It was your fault!  It was you all along!"  She remembered the pain and fury on the familiar stranger's face.  'How could you!?  You're my double!  Me!  How could you be so cold hearted as to do something like this!?!' then, 'You know how I feel – what kind of person must I be?'

            "What did she say?"  It was the innocent voice of Eythymia that was hanging on Hitomi's every word.  The 15-year-old looked up into the furry little face and pointed ears and smiled a little.

            She answered.  "She said something about 'doubles' and she knew who I was.  It was as if she was afraid she would run into me."

            "Doubles?"  Daiji asked.  "There's a term we haven't used yet."

            "She knew about the connection stuff?"  Koneko asked. 

            "But how can t hat be?"  Millerna demanded.  "How could someone completely strange to us know about the connection?"  

            "I guess it proves it goes both ways."  Yosu said. 

            "Maybe because she is Hitomi's double." Philos suggested.  "Hitomi's been to Gaea before.  Maybe she saw her and figured it out."

            "Maybe."  Hitomi sighed.

            "We've got a lot try and piece together."  Allen summed up.  "This is going to take a long time."

            Then a voice came running through the house.  One that made Allen flinch, Amano take on a realizing look and Suru turn her head.  The 12-year-old boy with blond hair and red eyes dashed into the room.  "Yo!  Fox Lady!"  Hakai braked in the door.  "Geez!?  When'd everyone get back so soon!?"

            "They brought a king with them, Hakai!"  Suru said.

            Hakai smirked.  "Like I care!"  He turned to Botheia.  "Hey, Fox-Lady.  Weren't you going to the Fox-place sometime!?  You said we were!"

            Botheia sat up straight, her ears raised.  "That's right, I told Narna that we were coming today!"  Eythymia brightened immediately and turned a set of hopeful eyes on her mother.  Botheia let her belted shoulders sag.  "I guess we will just have to put it off.  Run back and tell them we can't make it, Hakai."

            "Aww!   Mommy!"  Eythymia whined in disappointment.  "Please!?"

            "Aw, Honey, all these people have to stay and think."  Her mother said.

            "I have to admit, I was looking forward to seeing the fox village as well."  Millerna admitted.

            "We can talk on the way can't we?"  Jiai suggested.  "I'm very interested."

            "I want to go."  Suru added.

            "So do I!"  Celena cried.  "I want to se the other fox people and where they live."

            "We don't have to dwell on this all day do we?"  Daiji asked.  "A breather'd do us some good."

            "Ah, they're staying the night anyway."  Philos shrugged.  "They could talk later."

            Eythymia turned her large brown eyes up again to her mother. "Please Mommy?"

            She pulled her painted ears out level.  "If you are all in agreement…"

            "I want to!"  Hitomi announced, as if her desires ended the debate.  "I want to go!  Van, you'll come with me right?"

            "Uh… sure Hitomi – but…" he glanced to Allen who looked very stationary.  "But you were just talking about all we had to figure out…"

            "A change of scenery will do some good.  Come on!"  Hitomi begged.  "This is the chance of a lifetime!  I'll never be able to see a fox village on Earth!"

            "Tourism can wait."  Allen said, firmly.  "Let's list off all the more pressing matters:" he counted on his gloved fingers, "the false Hitomi, Haman's seizure of Asturia, how they're connected and who they're working for, who Yukari's connected to and what triggers her arrests –"

            "I'm going."  Millerna decided.  Allen stalled in his list and stared strangely at her.

            "I'm going too."  Merle said, standing.  "It's been a long time since I've seen other beast-people!  And I don't know if I've ever been to a fox-tribe before."

            "It'll be cool!"  Koneko agreed, standing as well.

            "Allen's right, though."  Amano argued.  "It really doesn't seem like a good time."  Allen turned his strange stare to his double; did Amano just say 'Allen's right'?

            "Let's put it off okay?"  Yukari begged him.  "I need a vacation."

            He looked to her and relaxed his resolve.  "Okay, Yu, for you."

            "Everyone else wants to go."  Jiai observed.  She looked to the brown-haired man watching quietly over the debate.  "Did you say you were coming, Daiji?"

            He looked to her over his sunglasses, then leaned back to slouch in the chair.  "I'm ready for anything."

            "Everyone's up for it."  Philos smiled to his wife.  "Let's go now."

            Botheia blinked, comprehending the suggestion with her ears pulled back.  Eythymia pleaded with big eyes. "Please!"

            The fox woman let out a deep breath of air and relaxed her white tipped ears.  "Alright.  Someone go get Hakai."

            "I'm still here."  The boy said, leaning against the wall.  "I knew we'd end up leaving anyway."

            "Hooray!"  Eythymia cheered and bolted for the second floor.  "I'm gonna get Leppy!"

            "Wait!  Eythy!"  Suru called, following.

            Celena got up and followed too.

            "Hey!  We're coming!"  Koneko called.  She grabbed Merle's arm.  "Come on!  You've got to see her room!  It's the neatest!"

            Merle was pulled off.  "Ooookay!"

            Botheia stood.  "I'll make us a picnic for dinner."

            "That sounds great!"  Jiai smiled.  "I'll help."

            "Me too!"  Yukari volunteered.  Millerna and Hitomi went with Botheia into the kitchen as if they were following the girls up the stairs.  Gadess stood.

            "Well, if you all are heading off, I'd like to get back to the Crusade."

            "Gadess?  So soon?"  His cousin asked.

            The Asturian sighed.  "There's a lot to oversee.  Fix up.  I've still got to run over all the repair lists from two days ago."

            Philos stood and presented his hand.  He was a stick next to his sturdy cousin.  "Well, come visit again soon.  We've got a lot to catch up on.  And this really wasn't much of a visit."

            "That sounds good to me."  Gadess smiled.  "I'll do that sometime.  Until then, good luck to you and your family.  Your wife is beautiful and your daughter is beautiful, so I don't expect you to have any problems."

            "Thank you for that benediction, Gadess."  Philos replied.   "I'll see you out."

            "I need to get Escaflowne off the Thysia."  Gadess said to Allen.  "Its fine if I get the men to move it straight in the hangar, right?"

            "Fine."  Allen agreed.  He scratched his head.  "So Escaflowne came too?  This HAS become a reflection of the past."  Van turned.

            Amano frowned.  "Reflection…"

*                             Escaflowne                                  *

            "ATLANTIS!?!"

            "S-Sir Trapan!"  Gambero stuttered, staring up at the cloaked figure from one knee.

            "ATLANTIS ESCAPED!?!?!"  Trapan roared.  Enraged, his face was a mass of deeply contrasting creases and a pair of pinpoint coal-black eyes.

            "The Pravada is missing, Sir!  And the Nadejes cannot be found anywhere!"  Gambero reported, hoping this would redirect his superior's fury.

            "The Hero has done it again…"  Trapan hissed through his teeth, then turned again on the kneeling Fanelian.  "Pawn!  Are you not supposed to be overseeing this!?!"

            "I – I was distracted sir!"  Gambero insisted.

            "I want none of your excuses!"  Trapan snapped.  He sat in thought, his black cloak draped over him.  "Without the Youth, we have no control over the country of Fanelia.  Residing in a leaderless enemy territory is not wise."  He turned his sharpened eyes back up to Gambero, who broke a nervous sweat.  "Who is the next in command to the king, Pawn?"

            "Er…The first royal advisor."  Gambero replied.

            "Seize him."  Trapan said.  "Bring him before me.  If he joins us, we leave to the Master's haven in the south.  If not, we kill him and move on to the next."  Gambero listened intently, and jumped clear out of his skin when Trapan raged his next order.  "PAWN!  Bring him BEFORE ME!  BEGONE!"

            "Yeee-ah!!"  Gambero leapt up and darted out, passing two more men dragging a heavy-set mustached man between them.  Trapan barely looked up when they threw their burden on the ground before them.

            "What is this?"

            "Our investigation ruled this man to be the one in charge of the infiltration from last night."  The left-hand soldier reported.  "He is the second in command from that Asturian extension they sent here."

            Trapan stood as the man on the ground stirred and began to shove himself up.  "What is this dog called?"

            "Duvera Hoden, sir."  The right-hand guard reported.

Hoden began to get to his feet, but his captors held him on his knees.  He looked up at the dark figure as it stepped up to loom over him.  "What is the meaning of this!?!"  Hoden struggled to get up again but could do nothing but crane his neck.  "Who are you!?!"  

            "Dog" Trapan hissed, his face in shadow.  "You aided the Dragon's escape?"

            "I don't know what you're talking about!"  Hoden shouted.  "I am a solder in the service of Queen Millerna Aston!  I demand to be set free!"

            "You do, do you?"  Trapan asked, slickly, "and you hold proud the order of your queen… indeed.  Follow her orders to the letter."  Hoden stared up, becoming strangely afraid as Trapan's voice moved in circles around him.  "Your Child Queen has taken leave of her country and sent little minions to steal the Dragon king from his throne.  Oh, your pledge to your Child gains you no privilege.  It only further convicts you."  Trapan took a couple more steps forward, his body breaking the light to cast his shadow across Hoden's face.  "But if it is freedom, or at least mercy you want, there is some information you can provide me…"

            Hoden drew back against the pressure of his captors' hands.  "Wh-What do you want?"

            Trapan sneered in the dark.  "There's a good boy.  If you could tell me, Dog, where your Child Queen is hiding, I will let you join my ranks and serve my Master with your life unthreatened."

            "What!?!  Never!"  Hoden cried.  "I will never betray Queen Millerna!  Even if I knew where she was, I'd never tell you!"

            One eyebrow twitched on Trapan's sneer.  He backed out a little.  "Very well, if that is your final decision…you may have made a fatal mistake."

            "I don't know what you're doing here, but its not right!"  Hoden cried.  "I'll report this!  I'll uproot you!"  Trapan reached up to unclasp his cloak, which was buttoned down his chest with black stone fastens.  His hands moved in the dark, leaving only the top secure around his neck.  The two holding the captain down took the hint and backed away.  Hoden turned behind him. "What's going on!?"

            "You made the choice."  Trapan said. "Accept the consequences."

            Hoden jumped back when there was a sudden flash from Trapan's belt, and a rush of wind that threw his shadow wide across the floor.  His dark cape was thrown out behind him over a rustling sound.  The man arched his neck, feeling regal and imposing, he reached with a broad, slow arm movement to his hp and the handle of the hidden sword that was emitting a faint light.  When his fingers touched the knob of the handle, it glowed.

            Hoden's eyes were wide and quaking in fear.  "What are you?"

            "The time for questions and answers has passed."  Trapan assured.  "But let me put you at peace.  No more fear or nerves.  No more secrets to be kept at high cost.  Let me give you the mercy you pleaded for…"  The sword slid out of the concealed sheath, glittering with glowing stones and casting a bizarre yellow-green light on the now revealed lines of Trapan's face.  The oily grin was there, over the colored pink and green glints on the curving blade.  Hoden moved to run, but had no time.  There was another rustle as Trapan moved to lunge and the sword sliced clean.  

The last thing heard from the Asturian was a begging "no!  Nooooooo!"

            Before the voice finished echoing, Trapan's cape settled back around his shoulders and the glowing sword slid back into its sheath, the stones losing their luminescence as his hand left to re-clasp the cloak across his chest.  The two soldiers reappeared to remove Duvera Hoden's body.

            A stately looking man, obviously Zaibachian, approached from the shadows.  There was a small band of Zaibachian soldiers with him.  They hung back as he came into the light before Trapan.  "Sir."

            Trapan returned to his seat between the torch lamps to message his temples.  "What now?"

            The man seemed uniform and emotionless, reporting to his superior with his dusty brown head bowed slightly.  "The repairs on the Asturian Maginot are near completion."

            "Good."  Trapan said, without enthusiasm.  "At least something is according to plan.  When will they be operational?"

            "Within the hour."  The bearded man replied, his eyes and head not moving.  "Unfortunately, the pilots are incapable of commanding them."

            "What was that?"

            "Several were wounded in the battle with the Fanelian Dragon Armor, Escaflowne.  I have sent them as you requested, party back to Asturia to report your orders to Lis Haman."  He continued.

            "What did you tell them to say?"  His voice was accusing, but the stranger didn't flinch.

            "I told them to relay your wishes.  To tell your Minion to close Asturia's boarders, assume military control over Palas, and recover Queen Millerna Aston as soon as possible.  I warned them to remain in tight secrecy, and to send you a messenger to relay the condition of Asturia's capture to you to communicate to the Master."

            "At least one of my ranks has half a mind."  Trapan said to himself.  He arched one eyebrow in the Zaibachian's direction. "Do I know you?  What are you?"

            "I am Virial, my lord, Military consort of Zaibach to Fried.  My men and I have been in your service for three days."

            "Three days…" Trapan repeated for his memorization.  "…Virial…  Machine."  Virial's pale lavender eyes rose to meet the coals of Trapan's, there was nothing but uniformity in them.  Trapan narrowed his own.  "Machine, you have proved to be in my like mind and can get jobs done.  I have an assignment for you.  The Dragon King and the Eyes have undoubtedly escaped Fanelia.  They have what the Master desires; the knowledge of the power of Atlantis.  Plus the Dragon Melef, Escaflowne.  It, its pilot, and the Eyes may prove important to the Master's ultimate plan for the Fate Machine.  Go to the town and find, however you have to, which direction they went and where they are now."  Virial didn't stray his eyes but merely snapped his fingers and one of  his captains bowed and exited with a handful of his men to search the streets.  The back row of his small company broke rank and headed out the door.  Trapan's interest was growing, his eyes locked with the lavender blankness.  He decided to test him further.

            "Machine.  You can accept another assignment."

            "Your will, sir Trapan."

            A twitch hit one sharp black eyebrow.  "I want you to be in charge of finding that party, too.  I give you authority over the pilotless Maginot.  You will find the Eyes."

            "Consider it done, Sir Trapan."  Virial reported, rigid, his voice not varying, as if he was truly mechanical.  Another hand direction and the four other captains at the front of his ranks stepped up behind him.

            The result was in.  One last test and this new soldier could prove to be exactly what Trapan needed for his operation.  "Virial.  Your mechanics seem to be moving effectively.  Would you find it impossible to take on more?"

            "I will complete whatever you assign."  Virial replied.  "No matter the amount."

            That sold it.  Trapan crossed his arms under his long black cloak.  "You truly are my Machine, Virial, you are my Powerhouse.  Three days have proven that you are one in my mind and incredibly efficient.  You are from my country, are you of my heritage?"

            "My line descends back into history, Sir Trapan."  Virial said.  "I believe it stems from the same as yours."

            "You are now first in my command."  Trapan announced.  "Commander in chief.  You answer only to me and serve as my voice in the field.  I place you in control over all Atlantican responsibilities. You are granted the use of my private Guymelef."  He grinned to himself.  "Tamarak."

            "Honored, sir."  Virial said, bowing, then returning to his previous posture, no pride or pleasure affecting his lavender irises.

            Trapan sat back down and began to think aloud to them both.  "Being in charge of Atlantican affairs would involve capturing the Eyes and such, gathering Atlantis information, and also the recapture of Atlantis itself."  He closed his eyes in thought.  "The Hero…  It would not be hard to signal his defeat.  Some of us find different grounds to stand on when it comes to race and destiny.  It is not hard to deal with heroes.  I know exactly what to do, I've done it before."  He looked up to Virial.  "Drive him out of hiding.  That will be your job.  It is my privilege to deal with him.  He needs purging.  His mind is corrupted."

            "Yes, sir."

            "That's pressing, but not so much as information.  Drive him out and report to me as to where he's gone.  Then focus on gathering knowledge."  The Machine stood silent.  "This will be a more difficult task, but I will give you a clue."  Trapan leaned forward.  "The only ones who know how to use the Power of Atlantis were Dragon Gods themselves.  But after the Ancient Kingdom was destroyed, the knowledge vanished with it.  Their children have nested too deeply into Gaea so that only a few have any inkling of what went before them.  The Eyes and the parties involved six months ago are the only ones able to provide us with any clues to Atlantis's uses."

            "When we capture the Eyes, we will find all they know."  Virial promised.

            "No, that won't do."  Trapan dismissed.  "While there is reason to believe that the Eyes, the Dragon, the Child and the Knight are together, none among them would have the capacity to recall such fine details as would be required.  And the Scientist, Newton, who actually rebuilt the Atlantis Machine, is dead, as is all of his sorcerers."  He looked to Virial, sharing a bitter moment with his fellow Zaibachian.  "No, there is but one left who may provide us with the information of the Dragon Gods."

            Virial's dusty eyebrows moved mechanically to further harden his face.  "Sir?"

            Trapan's greasy smile was back.  "A Merchant."

*                             Escaflowne                                  *

            "Narna!  Narna!  Narna!"  Eythymia ran down the sodden streets toward the thatched houses of the Silver-Chief tribe.  She had Suru, Celena, Koneko and Merle in tow.  The other thirteen hung back and admired the trees and the town of Kataphygio alongside them.  The village wasn't too far off, located on a plateau in the mountainside.  Water-loving trees that resembled wooly pines rose with darkened trunks against the gray sky.  Hitomi looked around her at the drowsy landscape and felt at peace.  What a perfect country Chesario seemed to be.  Here on the doorstep of a village seemingly untouched by all the events of her previous adventure or any other hardship existing in Gaea.  She hadn't warped it with her will and twisted fate, and that reassured her greatly.  Perhaps her presence in this world was not entirely bad.

            The village, when they reached it, was full of fox-men in various shades of reds, grays, and browns.  They all looked up from what they were doing to watch the group of Human strangers wander in.  When they saw Botheia and Philos, they understood what was happening and returned to their lives without concern.  The 6-year-old kit steered her chain of friends straight to her grandmother and grandfather's wooden house, her folk-doll hanging in the crook of her arm.  "Narna!  Narna!"  The old brown fox was kneeling by the campfire stirring a pot, her now scraggly tail swished as her ears perked up and turned toward her granddaughter's voice.  Eythymia let go of Suru's hand and ran with arms outstretched.  "Narna!"

            The old woman turned her smiling face, the brown fur grayed around her eyes and on her cheeks.  "Ah, Eythymia!"  The girl threw her arms around her grandmother's shoulders.  "It is good to see you!"

            "Good to see you too!"  She answered, her voice muffled in her grandmother's simple dress.

            The golden eyes, apparently inherited by Botheia, moved to the girls around her.  "And who are your friends?"

            "Greetings, Mhtepa."  Botheia smiled, interrupting unintentionally and coming forward.  

            The old vixen rose slowly and moved to give her daughter a hug and a kiss on each cheek.  "Ah, greetings, my dear!"

            "Greetings, Narna."  Philos grinned.

            She kissed his cheeks too.  "Greetings, Philos."

            "This is Suru, and Celena, and Koneko, and their friend Merle, Narna!"  Eythymia introduced.

            Her grandmother smiled at them. "Greetings friends.  If you are friends of my granddaughter, I am at your service."  She turned to everyone else; Hakai with his head in the fire already.  "What brings all of the town out to our village?"

            "These are some friends of ours were are staying with us."  Botheia answered.  "They wanted to see how the village lives."

            "Well, you are all welcome."  She said to them.  "My name is Asphaleia, but if you are special to my daughter and my son in law, you may call me Narna."

            "Hey Narna."  Daiji grinned.

            "It will be time for dinner soon."  Narna observed.  "I didn't make enough for so many."

            "We packed some stuff."  Jiai said, holding out the basket.  "We didn't want to be too much of a bother."

            "To me, you are certainly not."  Narna answered.  "Luckily, my todd is not around.  He is Silver Chief, you know, he doesn't take to a lot of men in the village.  He's very set on clansmen only except for the occasional Kataphygian woman who comes to buy our goods.  He is very touchy about male youths, but I'm sure you young men will behave yourselves."  The males among them exchanged glances.  Narna continued.  "Feel free to look around and get to know the clan.  I'll get a big pot of Silverfox Bonfire Stew going and we'll have a feast when Kalos gets back."

            "It sounds great."  Hitomi smiled.  "Thanks a lot."

            The afternoon moved by full of pleasantries.  The fourteen foreigners; Htiomi, Van, Yosu, Merle, Koneko, Allen, Amano, Millerna, Jiai, Celena, Suru, Hakai, Daiji, and Yukari spread out among the fox people, who sat on the doorsteps of their wooden houses making crafts for sale.  Hitomi had Van by the arm the entire time.  Merle sat with Neko, Eythymia and other fox girls, learning to play a cultural game with wooden marbles.  Allen watched smiling as Celena and Suru had red fur painted on their cheeks and foreheads and looked about the village like honorary members.  Hakai was having the time of his life helping fox boys build campfires and playing with torches.  Millerna had turned back into a 16-year-old girl, and was learning to weave baskets with some of the local women while Jiai sat nearby painting folk-art-foxes on clay dishware.  Yukari had Amano learning to dance from some very friendly vixens by a Hakai-started campfire.  Daiji'd been coerced into splitting wood for a troop of teenage fox-girls who giggled as the watched.  He adjusted his sunglasses and smiled to them, causing their tails to wave back and forth in a fit of bubbly, flirtatious laughter.  Yosu was watching with a smirk.  Daiji gave him a facetious look.

            Fun continued, and soon the sun started setting.  Hitomi found herself sitting with Allen, Amano and Yukari by Narna and Botheia who were chatting over the stewpot.  Hitomi had Yukari's connection on her mind.  Who could it be?  Someone who has fainting spells?  Maybe epilepsy… the way Yukari lapsed into a coma.  The connection must be really very strong, since these attacks happened without any help form Htiomi.  Everyone else required her intervention to conjure images or visions but Yukari's came from nowhere.  Actually, Hitomi realized, Yukari had never been formally connected, just brought along and by chance developed one.  But wait, she showed signs before coming to Gaea too.  When she saw Allen in her living room.  But Hitomi seemed to remember some sort of vision.  Before dinner.  When she touched Yukari during her first episode, Hitomi had received a flash image of a sunset, blonde hair, and Yukari falling to the ground.  New mysterious doors were opening up in her mind.  She knew she could piece this together if only she could see more.  She chanced a request from Yukari.  "Yu?"

            Her best friend looked up, her boyfriend too.  "Yeah?"

            "I was just thinking, you know, about your connection…"

            "Yeah?"  Amano asked.  

            Hitomi messed with her hands.  "I was going over everything I knew, and I was wondering…if…if you would let me connect you like I did the others."  Yukari drew back.  "Just so I could see a little more about your double…. It would only be short I promise!  And we'll bring you back right away!"

            "I –" Yukari stumbled.  "I don't like doing that.  It's so cold and hopeless feeling.  I feel like I'm swirling down into a pit of nothing and can't stop."

            "Don't do it Hitomi."  Amano begged.  "I don't want to risk it."

            "That's right.  Its too dangerous and Yu is too precious to risk."  Allen added.

            Amano cast him an indecent look.  Yukari was puzzled too.  "Allen?"  Allen started and sank into reserve, staring into the fire.

            "Please."  Hitomi pleaded.  "We're all right here.  I promise you won't have to do it for long."

            Amano swallowed hard and Yukari thought over the situation.  She looked into Hitomi's green eyes, seeing concern and understanding.. She finally decided. "Okay."

            "Yu!?!"  The two Amano cried.

            "As long as you promise me it'll be short!"  She defended.  She grabbed her boyfriend's hand.  "And as long as you hold me, okay?"

            Allen backed down again.  Amano squeezed her hand.  "Okay, Yu."  The knight cast a suspicious side-glance to his double.

            Hitomi took a deep breath and moved over to where they were sitting on the ground.  She kneeled next to her friend, who leaned into Amano, with a nervous atmosphere.  Hitomi took her hand.  "Okay, try and think about what triggered the last ones…"

            "The first time… it was seeing Amano's connection…"  Yukari said.  "The second time… when we were at Millerna's party… the third time it was seeing your double .. and…"  Thought detached her, and the girl seemed to drop like a stone out of her own body.  Hitomi was there.  She put one hand over her heart and closed her eyes.  She felt Yu's falling sensation, swirling and turning until the image of the sun setting appeared.  An older Yukari stood with different hair, longer, and lighter with more waves.  She was on a balcony.  The falling sensation picked up as the sun sank and the image of the girl fell against the railing and then backward onto the stone floor as the scene edged into darkness.  Hitomi watched blackness consume her, and then realized the time had come to come back, but there was more to know… more to see.  Hitomi did not recognize the woman…."

            She opened her green eyes to see Yukari still passed with glazed irises.  Amano was watching anxiously.  Allen was peering over her shoulder.  He spoke in her ear and made her jump.  "Bring her back, Hitomi!  Bring her back!  I can't take it."

            "Call out to her."  Hitomi said.  "Yukari!  Yukari!  Wake up!"

            "Come on, Yukari."  Amano begged.  "You can hold on to me… come back!"

            "Yu!"  Allen pleaded.  "Yu!? Yukari wake up."

            With Hitomi holding her hand and Amano's arms around her, Yukari's eyes began to clear and she clawed her way back to consciousness.  Amano sighed when she blinked again and her 16-year-old brown eyes turned to him.  "Amano… I found you again."

            "I'm always here, Yu, Whenever this happens, I'll always be here."

            Allen was relieved too, but sad.  The way Yukari was looking at Amano make him a little envious and very lonely.  Hitomi sighed and rolled off her knees onto the dirt.  Allen turned his attention to her.  "Did you find anything?"

            "Yes, and … no."  Hitomi answered.  "I saw the same vision clearer, but I don't understand it any more than before."

            "What was it?"  Amano asked.

            "Yukari older passing out on a balcony."  Hitomi answered.  "Whoever she's connected to, I think she is very sick.  We need to help her soon.  These death experiences make me think the lady who is her double may not survive for much longer."

            "That's really creepy."  Yukari stated.

            "Its not you, don't worry."  Amano assured.

            "But we're still no closer to finding out who she is."  Allen said, but his voice sounded like something was nagging at him.  He looked at Yukari as she straightened up and swallowed a sob strung from his heartstrings.  Hitomi watched the 21-year-old's face and change and realized something was bothering him.  Like he was keeping something secret.

            "Allen?  Do you have an idea?"

            "No."  He answered quickly.  "No, I –"  He checked himself a second, then regained his big-brotherly attitude with her.  "It's nothing, just – nothing."

            Amano didn't say anything, but wondered what this 'nothing' was, and studied the man's face.  Hitomi focused intently too.  She'd seen that look on his face before; she knew it.  She'd known Allen so well before, and could not deny the fact that she'd seen him this way.  It called back the memory of standing in the room with He, Millerna, and Dryden the day the latter two had announced their marriage.  And she'd seen it when he thought of his sister before she was restored to him.  It was that look of… lost love.  Hitomi gasped.  Allen staring at Amano and Yukari she realized what was going on.  'He's in love with her!'

Suru, Hakai and Celena ran up suddenly with tribal paint on, interrupting her revelation.  Celena turned to her brother, her blue eyes curious and full of more childish life than she'd seen in them for a long time.  "Big Brother?  Can I go down to the marsh behind the village with Suru and Hakai?"'

            "Why?"  Amano asked in Allen's voice.

            Suru turned to her cousin wearing her double's face.  "One of the other girls said that little moss flowers grown there t his time of year.  We wanted to pick some!"

            "Hakai wants to pick flowers?"  Amano asked, amused.

            Hakai flared up. "Heck no!  Whaddaya think I am!?!?  I'm goin' 'cause Suru's goin'!  Plus it's a swamp!  A kid's gotta investigate a swamp!  Maybe they'll be snakes!  That'll be awesome!"

            "Please Allen?"  Celena pleaded.

            Allen combed through his long blond bangs and considered her request.  Her enthusiasm finally won him over.  "Okay, you may."

            Celena clapped her hands and giggled.  Amano shook his head.  "If 'Big Brother' says its okay, then why am I stopping the two of you?"

            "Thank you, Amano!"  Suru said.

            "I woulda gone anyway."  Hakai announced, leading them off.  Celena was pulled away with Suru.

            "Thank you Allen!"

            "You're welcome, Celena."  He said after her.  He smiled briefly.  "It's been a long time since she's been that carefree and happy.  I'm really," he looked specifically to Hitomi, "very glad all of you came.  Even though it's been hard."

            "Its not over yet."  Yukari sighed.  "Now that we've freed Van and Merle, we have a whole new set of problems, like who false Hitomi is, and who that Royal Adviser guy and Seguir, the captain of the guard are working for.  They've taken control of two countries now, since we've been here.  The original plan was to free Van and leave, but we can't leave now and let them take over more.  We have to figure out why, how, and a way to stop it."

            Amano shook his head.  "Leaving hadn't even entered my mind."  

            Millerna and Jiai came over to site.  The queen sat on her ankles and tightened the bow in her wavy blonde hair.  "This is such a fascinating place!  I could stay here forever!  There's so much to see and do!  I feel so happy!"

            Jiai unconsciously got into the same position on her ankles.  "But you four don't look like you're relaxed.  What have you been talking about?"

            "More of what we were talking about before."  Yukari answered.  "Everything that's going on around here."

            "Have you figured out anything?"  Millerna asked.

            Hitomi shook her head.  "No, nothing."

            "I think this is beyond us."  Allen stated.  "Going on solely the information we have, I don't think we will ever accurately explain anything."

            The others nodded.  Hitomi put two hands up to pendant level on her chest.  "I agree, but I feel, somehow, that this still has to do with Atlantis.  The last time I had visions and everything was involved with Atlantis and everything I do reminds me of my pendant."

            "That girl still has it, doesn't she?"  Jiai asked.

            Hitomi felt her stomach turn; she just realized that the power of Atlantis had been left behind.  If only she had thought to get it when they were in Urthras!  "You're right!  I can't believe I forgot it!"

            "Don't worry, Hitomi, we'll get another chance."  Yukari reassured.  "She doesn't know how to use it anyway, does she?"

            "As far as I know, Atlantis is nothing but a legend to everyone but those from the last adventure."  Millerna recalled.  "Unless the false Hitomi has access to the ancient writings or the city in the Mystic Valley, I don't know how she would know."

            "We don't even know really."  Hitomi recalled.  "Just that it is the power of wishes and was used by Dornkirk to try and change destiny…"

            "He was Isaac Newton, right?"  Jiai asked.

            Amano shook his head.  "I still have a hard time believing that."

            Allen had one hand on his chin.  "You know, what I'm thinking is that Millerna has brought up a good point."

            Millerna's blonde eyebrows went up, interested.  "I have?"

            Allen nodded.  "Well, I was thinking along those lines before… that we are the only ones who would know anything about this.  And since we still can't figure it out, I was thinking that we should strike out and look for clues.  Where, I didn't know.  That is, until you reminded me of something."  He looked to all five of them, with his idea up for consideration.  "Who is the one person alive in all of Gaea who knows more about Atlantis than anyone else?"

            Millerna stopped with her heart thumping in her throat.  She swallowed it down and leaned a little further off her crag of impossible hope. "Do you mean…"

            "I think I know who you're talking about."  Hitomi said.  She turned and found Daiji across the space talking smartly to the fox girls and Yosu.  He was out of earshot, but as familiar in connection as ever.  Everyone followed her gaze, but Allen straightened up and spoke.  

            "Dryden is the most informed man on the subject of Atlantis, and I have no doubt that he retained more of the details of our endeavor than the rest of us.   He would be our best choice to turn to for help."

            Millerna tried to hide her response inside, but was betrayed by her Asturian blue eyes.

            Amano looked to Allen without noticing.  "Is he really that smart?"

            The knight nodded.  "In truth, he is, and his library holds a lot of the legend that Atlantis has become."

            "He's as sharp as they come."  Hitomi assured.  "He'll probably be able to explain some stuff.  And it'll be good to see him again."  

*                             Escaflowne                                        *

            "Look!  Over here!"  Suru cried.  "There's a whole bunch of them."  The girl's tennis shoes splashed the soggy pond moss as she hopped stones to get to a patch of small white tube-shaped flowers.

            Celena teetered behind.  "Ahh!  It's slippery!"

            "It's okay."  Suru assured.  "Come and look."

            The 16-year-old picked her way along the rocks until she joined her counterpart by the patch.  She smiled broadly at their small blooms.  "Wow!  Look how tiny they are!  They seem fragile…"

            "Maybe we shouldn't pick them."  Suru suggested.  "They are too small to make crowns."

            "Here."  Celena plucked one low in the moss so that a little more stem was attached.  She threaded it in Suru's bright yellow hair just behind her ear.  "Wear it like that."

            Suru giggled and gave Celena a similar decoration.

            Hakai sloshed through the standing water, his jeans soaked to their knees.  "No snakes!  Dangit!"

            "I'm glad."  Celena said.

            "I don't like snakes."  Suru seconded.

            Hakai looked over.  "Ah, I won't let it hurt you, Suru!  Snakes can kill people, but they don't scare me!"

            "My brother loves me."  Suru said privately to her friend, a smile on her face.  Celena giggled and they ambled off to find more moss flowers.  Suddenly, Celena stopped.  Suru stood ankle-deep in the water and looked back.  "What's wrong?"

            Celena had picked up a sound.  She froze, tuning in her hearing to a familiar but foreign pounding.  The vibrations were insignificant to the other two and noticed nothing but the blue eyes of their companion as they began to constrict, and her hands as they began to shake.  She could hear it as loud as if it was right next to her, and could feel it reverberating.  The other two stood silent, deaf, but noticing the water around their legs quivering and rippling off of them and the stones.  The tremors got stronger and a previously invisible flock of birds vacated their trees in a loud woosh and squawking.  Gradually, the twins picked it up, but none stronger than the hypersensitive ears of the central figure: stomp stomp stomp.  Each crash sending a new pang of pain into her brain.  Her lip quivered, afraid of what was coming and the approaching pain she knew would seize her.  It only made her condition worse.  The twins turned with a cry as a large, powerful, blue and white body appeared above them.  With the affirmation by sight as well as sound, Celena plunged down into a fiery swirl of pain and strange memories.  She could see flame, a burning torrent coming from her own hand and burning down houses, people, families… The curling edges of the paper doll.  The destruction through the grill of a Guymelef helmet.  She staggered in her green travel dress, and moved her shaking hands up to her ears, hearing screaming and laughing over the truly audible stomping of the mecha as it made its way quickly to them through the trees.  The water around them broke into waves and licked at their legs as they stared.  A scream finally escaped her trembling lips as the branches shook with the approaching suit.  Suru rushed up and grabbed her hand, becoming strangely mature for her twelve years.

            "Celena!  Stop it!"

            Her own voice snapping at her stopped her screaming and caused the images to fuzz out in her head.  Hakai sloshed up from behind and watched the Guymelef become a looming monster.  He spotted another appear behind it.  "There's more!  Look!"

            Suru turned, then drug Celena back toward the village.  "We've got to warn them!  They've found us!  Come on!"

            "S-Suru!?!"  Celena cried, as she found herself slugged back up the bank.

            Hakai watched the Guymelefs come.  The first one was nearly on top of them, a sword drawn in its hydraulic fist.  He stared with wonder at the glinting blade and the joints and levers.  He stared at the cockpit as the large metal feet stomped down, displacing the water at the far end of their marsh, and came to a stop.

            The man in the cockpit held up his sword and sliced through the trees along Suru and Celena's left side.  A heavy branch fell ahead of them.  Suru screamed.  The blonde boy's reddish eyes sparked.  His wonderment changed to determination and he charged over to the girls.  He grabbed Suru and Celena's arms.  "Let's go!  Come on!  Follow me!"

            They made their way quickly back to the fox clan, two of the Maginot behind them.  When they were on the doorstep of the peaceful world, they found it in chaos.  The third and fourth Maginot had just appeared on the scene.  Hitomi and Allen leapt up.  The girl drew back as fox tails and fur flew by, gathering possessions and children.  "What's happening!?!"

            "It's the Asturian Melefs!"  Allen cried.

            Millerna whirled around.  "The same ones!?"

            "They must have followed us!"  Allen determined.

            "Hitomi!?!"  Van dashed up and grabbed her shoulders, convincing himself that she was all right.  She looked at him and he turned with outrage to the soldiers approaching.  "Are they attacking!?!"

            The suits stood still on the four corners of the village as the rest of their party gathered around.  Merle and Koneko ran up with Eythymia and her wooden doll.  "Mommy!"

            "Eythy!  Come here, honey!"  Botheia got down on her knees and grabbed up her daughter.  The light brown fox girl had her ears pulled down and her tail wrapped around her legs.  "I'm scared!"  

Philos appeared and checked on his family with earnest.  "Theia!  Eythy!"  He got down with tem.  "Are you alright?"

            "Daddy!"

            Daiji and Yosu arrived, two of the fox girls from the earlier group hiding behind the 21-year-old shield.

            "Yosu!"  Hitomi called.

            "Yosu!?!"  Koneko dashed forward. "What's happening!?  Everyone's running around!"

            "Amano!"  Hakai shouted as he dragged the two copies of his sister after him.  "Hey!  Amano!"

            "Hakai!?  What!?"  Amano demanded.

            Celena ran crying to Allen's chest.  "It's happening!  It's happening!"

            Her brother pressed her closer and joined Amano's query, but had a tense suspicion. "what?"            

            The four suits stood in their patriotic blue and white, masked by a sense of dread.  Behind Htiomi's eyes, the sky flushed red and the machines chased two figures, a woman and a green-eyed girl.  She gasped and fell backward into Van's arms, the vision escaping her again.  Narna stood.  "Kalos is not here.  I will have to address the village."  She turned to Allen and Van.  "Do you anticipate an attack!?!  You two would know.  Should I advise an evacuation?"

            "They came for us."  Allen said.

            Narna was persistent.  "But will they attack!?"

            Allen's response was cut short by the appearance of a fifth melef swooping down from the sky.  Its hoof like black feet hit with a crash felt by every member of the tribe.  This was an ancient, mystical Guymelef built in the form of a man-stallion, all black and gleaming with the sun.  This formidable foe held the Zaibachian general Virial, who had no compassion in his eyes.  A swipe of he right arm, the only one ending in a human hand, produced a long, glistening Cleama claw stretching down like the blade of a sword.

            Daiji's eyes bugged.  "Like heck they're gonna attack!"

            Narna's name was called in a deep strong voice and she turned to northern entrance from which the three youths had come.  "Asphaleia!"

            Everyone found a strong fox warrior with glimmering silver fur and an army of spear-wielding todds.  It was the silver chief and the warriors of the village.  His wife ignored all proper introductions and rushed forward. "Kalos!"

            "We spotted the warrior machines on our way back through the forest.  We got here as quick as we could."

            "Prathros."  Botheia addressed her father.  His silver eyes were confident in the tide of leadership.  He nodded assurance to her.  "Theia, take your family and friends and get inside."

            Philos stepped up. "Sliver Chief."

            "You as well, son."  Kalos said, sending his eyes to his trembling granddaughter in his beautiful daughter's arms.  "There is much preciousness to protect here.  WE all must take our rolls."

            Philos nodded.  "Yes sir."

            Kalos turned and his voice boomed out over the panicking people, who stopped at its sound.  "People of the Clan!  Our village is under attack!  Vixens and pups and todds without military calling hurry to your homes!  Our Warriors will defend us!  All hurry!"  The crowd broke, rushing back to their wooden homes with their children.  Botheia picked her daughter up.  Philos turned to the group.

            "Into the chief's house.  Come on."

            Narna was already at the door.  She opened it up to let them inside.  Daiji turned to the girls behind him before joining the others in their rush to the house.  "You girls really need to be with your families now, okay?"  They were very frightened, but nodded.  He smiled briefly, but flagged them off.  "Hurry and get to your houses!  Go on!"  He met up with the others.  "Its like a zoo around here."

            "Why are we hiding?"  Koneko asked.

            "This is procedure."  Botheia answered. "Everyone takes cover while the warriors fight."

            "But they don't stand a chance against them!"  Yosu cried.  "They're going to get killed!"

            "Ahh!" Eythymia hugged close to her mother, Leptepiletos hanging over her arm.

            Botheia ran her fingers through her daughter's hair.  "We must remain hopeful."

            "I'm so scared."  Celena cried. "Allen!  My ears hurt!"

            "I know.  Its going to be okay."  Allen reassured, but he was having a hard time accepting his own words. "I can't believe we brought this on you and your tribe!  Believe me, if I knew-"

            "No need for apologies."  Philos told him. "It was impossible to foresee."

            The shining metal claw of Trapan's Stallion Melef rested just above the ground.  Virial watched the people scramble below.  The Maginot waited for his signal.  He could see the fox-tailed soldiers assembled, the Silver Chief in front.  Kalos called up to him, the beast men behind the swords, spears, and arrows were also waiting for their leader's signal.  "Stranger!  Why have you come to the village!?"

            The grates under the stallion's chin opened to reveal Virial's bearded face.  "This monster you see before you is the Tamarak!  These with me are searching for the King of Fanelia, Queen of Asturia, and a girl traveling with them.   Hand them over and we will leave peacefully."

            "I have no knowledge of these of whom you speak!  You must search somewhere else!"  The Silver Chief called back.

            Virial knew better.  "If you won't give way to our requests, we will be forced to find them ourselves."

            "I repeat!"  The Silver Chief called.  "There is no one here for you!"

            "We shall see."  He said.  The diplomacy was dropped in an instant and his lavender eyes became as a robot's; set and hardened, unemotional.  The Clema Claw came up and the four other pilots watched, holding their swards and awaiting the signal.  Virial raised his arm and sliced downward into the assembled defense.  A building was crushed with a swipe and screams came from its tenants.  The blade flashed along the front line, which darted backward in reflex.  Two were struck down.

            Kalos turned to his men.  "Fire at will!"

            Virial shouted an order to his fellow melefs.  "ATTACK!"

            His four followers heard his voice.  The Maginot at the far end stepped forward.  One of the pilots, a hairless man with broad strong shoulders, walked straight through a house on his way to the village.  The people inside were unable to escape.  One of his fellows, a nineteen-year-old man with blood-red hair, brought up his sword with a grin.  "Yeehaw People!  Let's do some damage."

            "Shut up and do your job, Resultant."  The third, a female blonde, spat.  "Find the targets."

            "You find the targets!"  Resultant replied.  "I'm gonna take this baby for a spin!"  His youthfulness was reflected in his piloting.  He took off into the street slicing through houses like block castles.  His female companion's movements were visible also in her melef.  She moved between buildings deftly, only destroying with her sword.  

The final pilot was a brooding man part beast and slant-eyed.  He moved into the field with an un-drawn sword and long-legged strides.  "The targets are human."  He reached down and ripped the roof off of a home.  The family inside therein huddled in the corner staring in fear.  The mother had a baby tucked to her breast and her tail tightened around a toddler pup to cover his face.  The Maginot pilot could see these were inhuman and drew his sword to wipe them out, no mercy, but only strict regularity on his long thin face.

Virial moved in and watched his four choice officers work.  He warped the liquid metal back into the re-vamped black arm of his suit.  He switched the setting to flame.  'The history of burning out kings and knights… they will have no choice…'

As soon as the buildings began to fall victim, the clansmen began to panic.  Those who were brave, or too frightened, stayed where they were.  Others fled.  Van watched out the window as women and men, children and the elderly, took to the streets.  He saw the giant's melef come down and take out some of the evacuees underfoot.  He winced and looked away when he heard their cries.  Merle whimpered behind him.  "They're coming to kill us!  They're killing everybody!"

            "They are Asturian."  Millerna cried, getting up and heading toward the door. "I'll tell them to stop!"

            "Millerna no!"  Daiji grabbed her arm.  "You can't go out there!"

            She had no other reaction but to stall at the sound of his voice.

            "Mommy!  They're coming!"  Eythymia sobbed.  "Make it stop!"

            "Hush, sweety."  Botheia tried to comfort, but she looked to Philos with terror and covered her daughter with her arms.

            The grandmother fox kneeled down with them.  She picked up Leptepileptos from where she'd been discarded to the floor.  She combed some white-tipped brown hair behind her granddaughter's tucked ear and gave the doll to her.  "Delicate, don't be frightened.  You will be safe if you hold Leppy tight.  She is you and you are safe as long as both of you are protected."

            Eythymia took the doll and hugged it close, burying her head back into her mother's shoulder.

            "I can't stand it!  I can't!"  Amano ranted.  "Look what they're doing!   I can't - !"  He paced.

            Yukari grabbed his hand.  "Amano, calm down."

            "Calm Down!?!"

            "This is totally unspeakable wrong they're doing!"  Yosu said, his Van-brown eyes sparking.  "We've got to do something."

            "What can we do!?"  Jiai fretted.  "We're defenseless!  We're completely vulnerable!"

            "Don't panic, 'Ai, its not the end yet."  Daiji said, but he had nothing to back it up.  Both Eythymia and Celena were whimpering.

            Van looked up the hillside and could see the dock where they'd docked the Thysia that morning.  The Crusade was there, and it was not too far away.  If only he could get to Escaflowne….            The cry of innocent people would not go unanswered, not if there was some way for him to help.  He sprang up and sprinted for the door.  Everyone looked over in shock but Hitomi most of all.  Her mind had been filled with thoughts of past words.  "Your uneasy spirit causes negative outcomes…"  She had death on her heart again.  Van's hand on the door may have marked the end for him. "Van!  Don't!"

            He turned.  "I'm going for Escaflowne!"

            "Don't leave!  You'll die!"  She pleaded.

            Another scream came from outside.  He looked more serious than he'd ever been. "I can help, Hitomi, like the Silver Chief said, there is a lot of preciousness to protect and we all have to play a part.  This is my part.  If I can save people and this village, I will.  But I'm going to protect you.  You are precious to me.  If I die doing it, I will never let the enemy get you!"

             She said nothing and he took it as sustenance.  Allen spoke before he left.  "Have Gadess bring the Crusade after you!  The Scherazade will help and we'll leave as fast as we can."

            "Right!'  Van agreed and left.  Hitomi's eyes were glued wide and she sank down to the floor in a smothering soup of pure dread.

            Van charged out into the street to face the back of the young man's Maginot.  Resultant was completely enveloped in his occupation, and laughed through his branchlike red bangs as he smote life and slashed fur with his sword.  Van clenched his teeth and ducked along the wall, his stomach knotting in rage.  Escaflowne was up the hill; this evil figure's careless regard for life would end now if he could help it.  The king darted back through the houses and into the woods.  The feet of the Maginot had left all the animals running or flying for cover.  The trees were now empty, but heavy with a tangible unease.  The leaves shook with the tremors as he passed beneath them.  The path up to the hangar was rutted from wagons and damp, puddleing in the foot and hoof-prints in the mud.  Van stayed under the trees, splashing bud up his tan pants and soaking his boots as they chugged in and out of the standing water.  He panted, his feet heavy and the smell of smoke filling the air.  At the legs of the hill he could see Limari, the commercial dock, tucked into a crotch in the mountains.  He stopped to catch his breath and turned back to the village.  The roves were burning.  He caught his breath, his screaming lungs ignored by the churning of his gut.  "It's happening again…"  Six months ago.. Urthras destroyed…Escape to Allen's fort…. More destruction by fire.  It all had happened before.  Escaflowne came out and the world fell down.  Hitomi.  "Folken!  It's happening again!  This world you hated its happening all over again."  Of everything they'd been through, all the work to rebuild, all the death, destruction, and pain, they still had barely managed to come through it all.  He'd lost Balgus and Folken, his family, in that place.  He'd lost his innocence.  What would he lose this time?

            Tongues of flame were crawling through the village, spouting form the liquid-metal spigot at the end of the Tamarak's metal arm.  Van snapped out of is.  Preciousness… even if this was a mirror image of what had been, there still was a chance to save lives.  He barreled up to the hanger.

            "Hey!  Torsion!  Watch this one!"  Resultant cried with a laugh.  He scooped a chunk of house up and threw it in the fiery path of the Tamarak.  The dry thatch went up and more screams came.  The woman turned without amusement and smirked at him.

            "Resultant!  I swear!  Just do your job and stop messing around!"

            "Don't you find my enthusiasm attractive?"  He asked, wishing he could get his hand up to his strong chin.

            The beast man looked up, part of a roof in his hand.  "I fail to see the humor in any of this."

            Resultant moaned. "Geez Prestress, lighten up."

            The final member, the juggernaut, lumbered up through a building, embers flying.  "Do not hold up.  We still have much work on this assignment.  Find the targets."

            "I'm on it, Vector."  Torsion answered.  "It's the kid who's the problem."

            "PILOTS!"  Virial cried.  "Find the targets now!  I will finish this village off!  If you don't find them here, move on to the town.  If they get away, do the same.  Don't let them get away."

            "Yes sir!!!"

            Kalos and the remains of the warriors rushed around the corner, Botheia and Millerna could see him through the window of the chief's house, Eythymia hugging to her father and her grandmother. Kalos thrust his spear end to point the way.  "Defend the houses!"

            The warriors rushed forward. Resultant eyed them tastefully.  "Right on!   More for the picking!"

            "Find the targets!  I'll deal with them!" Virial thundered.  The others obeyed without question.  Virial turned his stallion to the army, blasting them in a shoot of flame, leaving none standing.  Kalos snarled, his ears back and his sliver fur singed.

            "What Demon sent you!?  Why steal the lives of all these innocents!?!"

            The Machine lashed a clema claw from the arm of his melef.  He eyed the chief for a moment, but all his words had been shared.  Carelessly, he smote the man asunder, the great silver tail falling limp in the road soaking up the muddy water and blood from the soldiers, also slain.

            His daughter screamed. "Pateras!!!!"

            Narna's head snapped up.  "Kalos!?!"

            "Manel?"  Eythymia asked.  Philos hugged her closer to him.

            "Don't worry about your grandfather. He's not in danger anymore."  The man said.  The others turned.  Hitomi looked in shock to him, but Philos had tears in his eyes.  Yosu stared around at the room, realizing how vulnerable they really were. Death had visited this place inevitably.

            "We've got to get out of here."  He said.  "We can't stay."

            "There is no where to go."  Jiai said, her voice trembling.  

            "Lord Van will be here!"  Merle insisted, her tail wagging low and her ears back.  "Lord Van will protect us!"

            There was a crash and the far corner of the house fell in.  Resultant's careless sword swipes had knocked out one of the support pillars.  Everyone cried and dashed away from the collapsing end.  Celena grabbed her brother. "AAAHHH!  It hurts!"

            "Celena!"  Allen panicked; another crash came from right above him.  The central plank was snapping.

            Amano spotted it and shouted. "Run!  It's coming down!"  The party split as the house as torn apart, the people making their way to the street in parts.  Hitomi was pulled along the wall by Yosu, and stared about at the ferocious beasts that were towering about.  This was a nightmare!  It had to be a nightmare.

            Botheia dashed out with Millerna.  The Queen spotted Yosu and Hitomi, who had Merle and Koneko with them.  She ran and joined them under the cover of the wreckage.

            "Is everyone okay?  Where's Allen and Daiji and the others?"

            "Get out of sight!"  Yosu said, pulling her in with them.  

Botheia kept running in maternal madness.  "Eythymia!?!"  She searched desperately.  "EYTHYMIA!?!"

            "Mommy!"  The girl shoved her way out from under some roof thatch.  She ran and grabbed Botheia's waist.  "Mommy!?!"

            The vixen fell down and held her daughter tightly.  The glanced around for her husband. Hitomi saw the black stallion loom up behind her.  "Botheia!  Look out!"

            The woman turned to see the melef bearing down, and couldn't react but to hug her daughter tighter.  Philos came running up from another splintered pile of wreckage. "Theia!!!"

            Virial noticed the two shivering foxes at his feet, then the man as he came.  A human like the targets; he readied the arm of the Tamarak and its liquid metal lighter fluid. Hitomi's eyes widened: a vision.  Wings, a stranger swooping.  Fire everywhere.  No escape:  She couldn't scream, but watched Philos run up and stand in front of his family, staring into the cockpit of the machine in blind courage. Botheia gasped when she saw him and mouthed his name.

            Virial had no compassion. This was not a king or a knight.  These lives were insignificant.  He fired the blowtorch and the Chesarian was consumed with flaming metal spray. He threw up his arms to cover his face, the skin blistering with the superheated veil, then turned his back and grabbed his wife and daughter, trying to shield them.  Sound was lost in the force of the shooting flames, but from the outside, those in hiding saw them fall and vanish into nothing. Hitomi's eyes twitched.   They were killed?  That beautiful family?

            Suru hugged Hakai. "Eythymia!?"

            Allen's face quivered in rage as he hid his sister's face.  Amano was speechless, his hands shaking, even with Yukari's clasped in them.  The brown-eyed girl beside him had tears running down.  Daiji stepped out of cover with them and Jiai.  The curly haired girl grabbed his hand to keep him there, his teeth clenched.  She bit one lip and tightened her grip on his wrist to contain her emotions.  Yosu grabbed his sister and Millerna grabbed Hitomi.  Peace and beauty; the queen couldn't believe that this catastrophe had actually happened.  "No!"  Hitomi's heart sank down.  These people never had to be involved… it was her fault.  They were so nice, and so generous and they were taken because of her.  She broke down.  "NOOOOOO!"

            There was a flash and the Tamarak was thrust to the side.  Everyone looked to see the flashing metal and glowing pink energist of the Ispano Melef Escaflowne.  The mechanics of the powerful arms sparked around the black hair of its pilot.

            Hitomi snapped into pure terror.  "VAN!!!!!"

            The Crusade was hovering just beyond the reaches of the town.  Allen spotted his opportunity and passed Celena off to Amano.  "I'm going for the Scherazade.  You follow when the way is clear!"

            "But-"  Amano cried, but in a flash of blond and Asturian blue, the knight was off. The other Melef Pilots turned immediately to the newcomer.

            ":Is that - !?"  Torison cried.

            "Escaflowne!"  Vector affirmed.

            Resultant got a vengeful glint in his eye.  "The Death Dragon!  The Murder Melef."

            "Find the targets."  Prestess repeated.

            "You know who's in that cockpit don't you!?!"  Torsion accused.  "Hi IS the target!"

            Van thrashed away at the black armor, the white of his machine gleaming in the flames of the burning houses.  He snarled.  "I don't know who you are!  But you're evil!  And I can't let you live!"

            "Ispano Melef, you are no more evil."  Virial shouted back, a liquid blade rising to clash with Van's "You are just like us!"

            "What are you trying to say!?"  Van demanded.  "I won't fall for lies like that!"

            "Yee-haw!"  Resultant sliced in with his Maginot, running his blade across Escaflowne's helmet.  A gash opened in Van's cheek, blood running down his chin.  He winced and turned to parry and throw the 19-year-old off.  The Tamarak sliced in while he was distracted, another wound opened in Van's shoulder.

            Allen strapped quickly into his suit and leapt out of the Crusade from several feet above the ground.  The navy metal and dark cape of his melef were diminished to a blur as he drew his long sword and rushed into battle.  "For Hope and Love and Innocence and all such which was stolen here!  Marlene!"  His lost love as a battle cry, the blade of the Scherazade ran through the workings of Resultant's melef.  It's sword-wielding arm sparked and fell limp, useless.  Resultant cursed.  

            "Where's that come from!?"

            "Heeeya!"  Torsion darted in to combat the knight, her feminine movements swift and poised, twisting around and sweeping in at angles Allen was having a hard time countering.  He backed a few paces to gain some ground.

            Amano saw a clear path through the rubble to the Crusade near the ground.  He shouted over to Yosu and his party.  "Yosu!  Make a break for the ship!  Hurry!"

            The orange haired boy grabbed Koneko's hand and turned to the frozen girls watching the battle.  "Hitomi!  Millerna!  Let's go."  Millerna moved, but Hitomi stayed rooted.  Yosu grabbed her arm.  "Hitomi!"

            "But Van – "

            "Lord Van can do it!"  Merle insisted.  "We gotta get out of here!  Come on, Hitomi!"

            She gave a last look to Escaflowne and ran off with the others.  Amano gave Celena Jiai's hand.  "Get her to the ship!"

            "Come on."  Daiji led the two of them and Yukari out of danger.

            Amano stepped up to where his cousins were.  Suru was sifting through the wreckage and Hakai was staring at the battle.  Amano knocked him in the head.  "Wake up!  We're leaving!"

            "Ahh!  Don't tell me what to -"

            "GO! NOW!"  Amano roared.  Hakai took off running after the others.  Amano bent down to Suru.  "Come on, Su, we've got to leave right now."

            "But Leppy -  "  Suru shoved aside a plank to uncover the late 6-year-old's wooden doll, blackened from smoke and fire, and a chilling testament to what was occurring.  Amano grabbed her shoulders.  "Never mind.  Let's go."  Suru snatched Leptepileptos out of the mud and carried her with her, one hand in Amano's.  Her guardian shouted up to the knight in his armor.  "ALLEN!  WE'RE GO!  LE'S GET OUT OF HERE!"

            Allen heard him, but was thrown back by a mighty blow from Vector, the strength behind the bald man's attacks seemed unreal.  Allen knew the Scherazade could not stand against this unfair match for much longer.  He grabbed the limp arm of Resultant's Maginot and flung him into the attackers.  "VAN!"

            Van gave him a  second's attention, swiping up to block a blow off Prestress and moving aside to miss one from the Tamarak.  He listened as Allen called.

            "We're retreating!  Hurry!"

            Van hated to go and run away again.  But he had no choice.  Life was a carousel and now he had to flee the place of refuge again.  He backed away and ran after the Scherazade, leaping into the hanger of the Crusade as it took off.  The Maginot were left on the ground to watch them fly away over the mountains.

            Virial spat blood from his severed lip. "They've escaped!  There is no use now."  He turned to the sparking suit of Resultant's mecha.  "We can't follow them at pace, now.  Move to the town!  Destroy everyone and everything! No one should know we were here!"

            Everyone stood in the cockpit staring out at the retreating world.  Kio steered silently and Van patched his wounds without looking, Hitomi attached to his unharmed side, but also staring.  Kataphygio was smoldering, the Fox village was in ruin, and she couldn't help but feel responsible.  This was the same as before.  Van voiced his thought from earlier reading her mind.  "It's happening again."

            Suru held the blackened wooden doll, its cloth hair singed and its smiling face half destroyed from the struggle.  She held it up in front of the landscape. "Leptepileptos…Delicate…Eythymia… I've got you, you're safe now."

To be continued….


	10. Episode 10: Loneliness

Escaflowne:   Mirrors 

Episode 10:  Loneliness

            Kataphygio lay in ruins, ashes smoldering in a wide plane of rubble, every home razed to the ground, every business reduced to splintered boards and plaster.  Light rain was falling on the glowing embers, the dead rising with the thin smoke in a silent song of sorrow.  Their murderers were not there, they'd moved on to other locations and other aspects of their assignment.  Virial was not head of Atlantis affairs and the right hand of Trapan's army for no reason.  Night had fallen since the destruction and he and his Maginot had accomplished much business.  They had returned to Fanelia where the disarray was still maintaining and Trapan was growing impatient.  His ship was being prepared, but there was no presiding figurehead loyal to him.  His pawn was at work.  Virial knew it, but Trapan was content with his handling of the situation.  There were many tasks and new chances.  They were on the run and without a safe harbor.  More steps needed to be taken in order for the next goal to be reached.  Virial had taken care of business as well, sending his remaining captain on to Asturia to make sure the boarders were closed with orders to hold the Crusade and the Hero if they were caught.  Now the Maginot were making their way northeast across the Adynaton Mountains and into the northern country of Deidlas.  In the cover of night, the wind whipped through his beard and stung his eyes.  The Tamarak to achieve flight transformed into a pegasus with wide canvas wings.  Virial's cockpit seat was at the base of the stallion's neck and he steered from there.  Below he could see a pine forest, dark in the dusk and far from the nearest boarder town.  He knew his party needed to land for final repairs, the major damage taken care of and the proper parts salvaged from Fanelia before a hasty departure.  In any case, Sir Nadeje and his daughter would be hard to find in the dark.  He yelled back to the four behind him.  "Take them down here!  In these trees!"  He could not see their nods or if they even heard him, but reigned his leader's melef, brining the hooves down to the cold hard ground and slicing through the needles of the trees with its wings.  He landed with a heavy thud, the melef's wings folding back and the black stallion lowering to its knees and to permit the pilot off.  Four melefs hit their feet around him, crouching to one knee and letting the Zaibachan soldiers out of their cockpits.  

            Resultant stepped out brooding and unpacked the tools he'd stored in the pilot chamber.  "I can't believe I have to finish fixing this myself!  This is so frickin' dumb."

            "Don't be so careless."  Prestress told him, coming out of his machine and down to the ground.  He watched his breath float as vapor in front o f him and returned to his cockpit for fire starting elements.

            "Careless!?  What the heck do you mean 'Careless!?!'"  Resultant shouted.  "HE snuck up form behind! It wasn't my fault!"

            "Oh cry me a river."  Torsion said, stepping out of her suit and checking her hair in a hand mirror.  She took a breath of the frosty air and became disgusted.  Tossing the mirror back on her seat, she called to Virial.  "Why'd we stop in Deidlas, Commander?  The temperature is awful."

            "We are finding Atlantis."  Virial said, pointedly.  "Trapan instructed that, for a heroic person, we should seek out a corner of the earth unpleasant for most but hospitable enough for communities to survive.  That is why we are here."

            "There is no one around is there?"  Torsion asked, unclasping the bulky shoulder armor of her uniform and dropping it to the ground behind her.

            "There is no one for miles."  Vector answered in his deep voice.

            She smiled and stretched her back and arms.  "Good, I need to loosen up."  There was a rush of white as a pair of large, downy wings unfolded seamlessly from her back and extended upward and outward, catching the light of Prestress's newborn fire.  None of her fellow captains paid her wings any attention.  They were nothing special to them, but Virial's eyes shot to them like a magnet, the lavender brightening and revealing the youth behind the beard on his face.  They were quickly turned away again.  She released her stretch and let the exceptionally long white feathers fold down and catch the wind as she walked over and sat by the fire to file her nails. 

Resultant saw an opportunity and whistled. "Whoa." Torsion ignored him, but he left the repairs of his melef to come stand by her.  "You know how sexy you look with your wings out?"

            "Get lost."  She said, without looking up.

            Resultant kneeled down next to her.  "Yeah, Draconians may be Dragon Gods, but you are definitely the Dragon Goddess!  A woman like you could make all humans drop dead at first sight!"

            "Your parents were probably humans."  She said, filing. 

            "Both my parents were gods, thank you very much."  Resultant stated.  He took off his own armor shoulder plates and got out his wings; large, white, and broad.  He struck a pose that showed off his 19-year-old strength and his graded profile.  "These don't come from mixed breading, baby!"

            "Don't be so full of yourself."  Prestress told him. "You know nothing about it."

            "Show us yours, goat man."  Resultant challenged.  "Rape boy.  Which one was your mother?  The Draconian or the Impala?"

            "The impala."  He answered, throwing sticks on his fire with his long, slightly bowing forearms.

            "So she assaulted the Draconian man?"  Resultant accused.

            "Leave him alone."  Torsion said, sounding sickened.  

            Prestress blinked slowly and his tall ears twitched slightly, he then continued to tend his fire.  "Not all Dragons are gods."

            "What do you mean by that!?!"  Resultant accused.

            Prestress stood and shot his hidden wings out of his back, his ash-blond hair lifting from behind his shoulders with the blast of wind.  The beast-man's wings were as spectacular as the other two's with his mixed blood leaving the overlapping feathers in immaculate perfection.  The person to whom they were attached did not consider himself nearly as pure.  "My father was strong.  My father was glorious.  But my father was evil."

            "Evil!?!"

            "We're all evil."  He stated.

            Resultant was getting ticked off.  "What are you saying!?!  All Draconians are evil!?!  That's blasphemy!"  
             "Everyone is evil."  Prestress continued calmly, as if stating a sad fact.  "I am evil.  But we must be.  Balance remains.  Balance is essential."

            "Balance?"  Resultant was concerned, and the others cocked their ears.  Prestress had never spoken so much in a stretch before, especially not of his own philosophies. 

            "We have to earn our privileges."  Prestress informed them.  "In order to exists, others must exist.  In order to love, others must love me.  In order to hate, I must be hated.  In order to kill, I must die.  I am slowly dying indeed, bit by bit.  That is how I do my job."

            "Your mother taught you this?"  Vector asked.

            Prestress's wings were sucked back into his body and he turned his sharply slanting brown eyes to the young man.  "My father. In the very way I came into the world.  I was never meant to be.  I am the product of a crime.  The balance for that would be proving his mistake.  He spawned a methodic drone that kills humans, beasts, and gods.  He should look on me with pride or guilt, but he should look on me.  That is my balance."  He headed away form his fire and out into the cold and the dark to dissociate.

            "What a freak."  Resultant said.

            "He's deep."  Torsion said, checking her manicure.  "But that's his own deal.  It's not my problem."

            "That is why he is here."  Virial said.  "You would have a mind, Resultant, not to change his state of mind.  I'm sure you, of all of these, would understand."

            He scowled.  Torsion actually looked up at him.  "What?  You got some twisted philosophy, too?"

            "No."  He said, but he liked this older woman paying him attention and went ahead and told.  I've got my own reasons to be on this job.  Those Asturian allied forces…  Escaflowne especially… killed off all my friends and family six months ago.  I was in the army and my squad was set to defend my hometown, which was part of a military base.  The enemy forces smashed it.  I was the only survivor out of my whole division, and my whole family!  I'm doing this for REVENGE!  If I was let to live, it had to be so that I can get even!  That's my one goal and the center of all entertainment!  I'm only happy when I'm giving them their own medicine!"

            "So that's your balance."  Virial said.

            Torsion shrugged. "Stinks to be you."

            "Hey, I've got a reason!  Do you?"

            "No."  She said simply.  "I have no angle.  The job pays and I'm good at it.  Simple as that."

            "Is it, now?"  Virial asked.  She looked up to him, then came to a sudden defensive anger.  Her commander's lavender eyes were staring her down and she felt violated, as if he could see the truth in her.  She turned away and pouted, denying him any reaction.  Virial's eyes dropped then traced the ground to look away.  He stood.  "Vector, go find Prestress and bring him back.  We have three hours of rest then we leave."

            "Yes, sir."  Vector bowed and marched off to obey.

            Resultant made eyes to Torsion.  "Hey, three hours…"

            "Buzz off."  She stormed away.

            Virial watched her go.  He bowed his head as if he was slipping out of hiding and hoped not to be seen.  He made a move to follow her but stopped to level his eyebrows at Resultant.  "You'd better use your time to fix your melef."

            "Yes sir."  Resultant nodded, his blood red hair bobbing.  As soon as Virial had left to follow Torsion, he fumed up and kicked the shin of his armor.  "Stupid machine!"

            The female Draconian stopped in a pool of moonlight out of sight of the campfire.  Her wings were still out, and the white caught and held the blue glow like a cold embrace.  She stared down at the shapes of the pine boughs as they cast shadows on the packed earth and relaxed into her loneliness.  Holding her mask with her commander staring at her with those piercing eyes was getting harder and harder the longer she tried to do it.

            Virial came up behind her quietly and let his own wings unfold from his back.  He was not a man of words, but with his secrets visible, he felt more comfortable in talking.  In Torsion he could see someone who would understand him, the hard part was getting past his private seclusion and confronting her.  He functioned better when he was hiding, and having his wings exposed made him vulnerable to pain as well.  Perhaps, a beautiful woman with her own wings out would give him a chance if he chose his words properly.  He stood for a long time contemplating his first comment and what to say.  He finally decided on a statement that seemed to express his opinion with the fewest syllables.  "You are not like this."

            She turned sharply, a very private and complex train of thought interrupted.  She didn't look at him, but noted his presence and sensed his open wings out of the corner of her eye.  She turned away to gather herself into what she thought he knew her to be.  

            In her pause he stepped closer.  "What you said is not true.  I can see it."

            "You – were mistaken."  She said, her loud imposing voice back, trying to smother weakness. "Sir."

            It took him another minute to set up his next response. "You don't have to lie to me."

            "I'm not lying about anything!"  She insisted.

            "Torsion –"

            "Sir."  She said.  He let his posture slump a little, seeing what he got for speaking quickly.  He re-gathered his bearings and mustered his courage.  

            "I cannot allow you to hide yourself away and twist yourself around.  You will break soon if that is your way."

            "I'm strong, commander."  She answered. "Don't worry about your assignment.  I'll get it done, you won't be hindered on my account."

            He stepped forward a little more, the white of his wings reflecting the moons and brightening the two of them in an aura.  "It is not the assignment.  I do not have work on my mind.  I do not want to see your twisting break you like I do not want to see the pain it would cause you."  He guard dropped like a rock.  "You're too beautiful to be in pain."

            She turned her wide brown eyes to him, thoughts dashing through her mind, his behavior puzzling as a stranger's.  "Virial?"  She arched her wings up behind her. "What are you saying?"  He thought through a response, but she demanded something else of him.  "What do you want from me?"

            Fear, a foreign emotion, gripped him from the back of his neck and tightened around his spine.  He couldn't afford to silence lest she get the wrong impression. He spoke intuitively, his wings feeling heavy and burdening, his shell thing and vulnerable.  "I want you to know that you are not the only one who is deeper than they seem.  While you twist, I layer.   My cover is multiplying as I try to see my part through our true calling and place.  I saw you the same.  I don't want you to endure it.  You're too… you're…"  He faltered, biting his lower lip, searching for words and not finding them.  She relaxed the feathers and stared in bewilderment and disbelief.  He regretted the whole advancement and wanted to suck his secrets back into his body and retreat into his shell of a person, but it was too late to pretend that he hadn't said anything and forced himself to remain exposed.  He had one thing to say now, before his words ran out and he could not continue.  "You are not alone."  His lavender eyes hardened slowly. "Tori."

            It was over.  The mechanics inside him settled down and his inner balance was restored to their previous steady grind.  She stared as his wings disappeared and he became efficient and cold. His voice came with the strong, neutral command of his automated haven.

            "There are three hours before we take off.  Be ready to leave when the time comes."

            She watched as he marched back to the bonfire and said no more.  Torsion ran one hand through the blonde hair around her neck. 'I'm not alone?  How could he say that?'  She looked after him but could only see the glimmer of the campfire on the trunks of the pines. 'Tori?'  She had butterflies in her stomach and hugged her elbows.  'Who was that?'

*                             Escaflowne                                        *

            A Zaibachan troop arrived in an airship called the Congruency.  It was the name-ship of Commander Glaucus Virial, but was not piloted by him.  It floated over Palas and was swept through the checkpoints standing in newly erected towers around the city outskirts.  Several commercial and public transport ships were grounded before the Asturian soldiers.  The military vessel passed seamlessly as merchants and townspeople watched. The atmosphere about the canals was tight and tense.  In minutes, the ship was on the ground and the Zaibachan detachment of Virial's men were moving briskly down the halls to the queen's throne room where Haman had given up his humble facade and was reveling in his new power.  The head man in the group of soldiers, the fifth captain in Virial's command, stormed into the chamber with a purposeful air and did not wait to be introduced.  "Haman!"

            The head advisor stood up, his puffy sleeves smashed under a maroon-colored cape.  He looked with outrage to the posted Asturian guards and the party of Zaibachan soldiers.  "Who are you!?  How did you get past the checkpoints!?"

            "I am Areolar, Captain to Commander Virial newly appointed head of Atlantis Affairs.  Trapan gave you the Master's orders."

            "Yes." Haman answered, becoming more at ease knowing that they were in the same army.  "I closed the city just as he said.  You have seen it on your way in.  And I have sent word to men on the checkpoints on the landside borders."

            "I am of Virial who has been proclaimed Trapan's right hand. Trapan is the only one who answers to the Master so by commutation, the orders to you are this: stop not only those by air, but those by sea, and those by foot and cart as well.  Seal Asturia tightly so that no living creature can pass undetected."

            "The Master ordered this?"  Haman charged.

            "See that it is done."  Areolar stated.  There was a pause as the captain's brown eyes beat into the old man.  Little younger than Virial, in his late twenties, Areolar bored in deeply so that as Haman considered him, he became convinced and nodded slowly.  Areolar narrowed his absorbing eyes and issued another command. "Have your checkpoints watch for a green Guymelef and a man and a girl.  You will recognize the name.  Seguir Nadeje, previously captain of this royal guard."

            "Seguir?  What prompts this?"  Haman asked. "

            "You would be smart to ask questions later."  Areolar said.  "When you find him, he will be with his daughter.  Hold them both under lock and key. They are defects and have betrayed the Master.  It is Commander Virial's charge to apprehend them."

            Haman thought a minute.  Nadeje, his partner in crime while in Asturia, the only other member of the Master's army to made home in the palace hierarchy.  "A defect do you say?  Betrayer?"  He leveled his brow.  "If he passes this way, he will be found.  And held.  I assure you."

            Areolar nodded and sensed the conviction in the reply.

                                    *                           Escaflowne                              *

            Night and the edges of the Asturian outer boarders eased by, but the Crusade was heavy with mixed emotions.  A memoriam had been set in what was know as Celena's room next door to the cockpit.  Jiai had used the skills she learned from the fox clan to paint a folk-art portrait of the Hroases: Philos, Botheia, and Eythymia.  The funeral servie had been long over, but the candles were still lit.  Gadess stood staring at it.  "So short so long, cousin."  He let out a deep sigh.  "I won't be able to see you, but I will go back for that visit someday.  Maybe if I'd have been there…" he sighed again.  "it's a tragic waste."

            Down the hall and in one of the lounge rooms, Hitomi was sitting at a table with Millerna, Yukari and Jiai.  Koneko and Merle were on the floor trying to play the game they'd learned from the six-year-old girl.  It was bittersweet.  Suru had the doll, Leptelepitos by her side, she and Celena sat in communal silence.  There was a longing for innocence and pleasure in each of their empty hearts.

            "I – I can't believe it happened."  Jiai said.  "I just can't convince myself that we were the only ones to make it out alive."

            "Don't talk about it."  Yukari bade.

            "There is nothing we could have done about it."  Millerna said.

            Hitomi clutched her black pleated skirt, an overwhelming guilt growing within her.  "It's all my fault."

            "No, Hitomi!"  Millerna said.  "None of it was your fault"

            "It was."  She insisted.

            "How could you think that!?!"  Yukari cried.

            "It happened before."  Hitomi said.  "Last time I was here, with my terot cards.  My feelings changed the way destiny for this planet went."

            "But you don't do terot readings any more."  Jiai recalled.

            "And you don't even have the power of Atlantis with you."  Millerna said.  "It would be impossible for you to have – "

            "Just think about it!"  She cried.  "If we hadn't been there, then Philos, Botheia, and Eythymia would never have been included!  All those people in the town, all the fox men in the village, they would still be alive!  If I wouldn't have come, none of it would have happened!"

            "But if you hadn't come, then a lot of good things wouldn't have happened either."  Millerna reasoned.  "Van would still be under your double's control, Merle would still be imprisoned, I would never have known about Haman or Seguir.  No one would have known about any of this.  Think of everyone you've saved by coming to Gaea!"

            "How do you know I didn't cause all of this too?"  She responded. "Van's mother and my grandmother told me that it was my uneasy feelings that affected fate!"

            "Allen didn't think you did anything."  Yukari recalled.  "He told you at dinner three days ago.  And personally, I agree with him.  The idea that anyone can change fate is ridiculous!  How do you know fate isn't guiding you?"

            "I cant answer those questions."  Hiotmi admitted.  "I don't remember it all.  Dornkirk was doing something with changing fate.  The Draconians did it somehow.  I can't think about it right now.  My head is too full of my own questions."

            "Maybe…"  Millerna tripped over her words.  "Dryden can answer these questions when we find him."

            Jiai saw this as an opportunity to change the subject.  "I'm excited to meet Dryden after hearing about him!  Is it true you two were married, Millerna?"

            Millerna nodded.

            "What happened to that?"  Yukari asked.

            Millerna messed with her hands in a way Hitomi found familiar as they hovered just in front of her breast.  "I –"

            "Dryden left."  Hitomi answered for her.

            Yukari jumped back.  "What a jerk!"

            "No!"  Millerna said quickly.  "He's not.  It wasn't his fault.  Being king in a war, it was too much for him!  He couldn't stay and live with so much responsibility and with me…"

            "So he was a coward."  Yukari corrected.

            "No…No!"  Millerna had run out of excuses.  "You don't understand.  He's got the biggest heart.  He was defeated by what happened and left to try and make himself better for me."

            "It sounds like he meant something to you." Jiai observed.

            "well…"

            "Then why'd you let him go?"  Yukari asked.  Millerna surrendered to silent resolve.

            "She was in love with Allen then." Hitomi told them.

            "You mean they weren't in love when this was happening?"  Jiai asked.  "Why did they get married if he couldn't be king and they weren't in love?"

            "They were betrothed."  Hitomi answered.

            "He loved me."  Millerna said.

            "Aww."  Yukari moaned.  "That's so sad!  He loved you and you didn't love him so he left in defeat!?  He must have felt terrible!  I'm sorry I knocked him down, now!"  Millerna's head sank lower as Yukari continued.  "I bet he decided to leave because he wanted someone to stop him."

            "What's he like?"  Jiai asked, sensing a level of uneasiness rising as Yukari kept talking.  "Is he a lot like Daiji?"

            "He's a LOT like Daiji."  Hitomi answered. "I'd say those two had the strongest connection.  Not only do they look a lot alike, but their personalities are nearly exact!  You should have seen me when I ran into him for the first time!"

            "I did!"  Jiai recalled.  "You drug me to an internet café to convince me that he WAS Dryden!  I remember now!"

            "Daiji's not a jerk."  Yukari stated. "He's a hunk."

            "So how are we going to find Dryden?"  Jiai asked.  "Do we know where he lives?"

            "He's on a merchant ship." Hitomi answered. She turned to the young queen next to her.  "Do you have any idea where he could be?"

            "No."  She said.

            Hitomi asked again. "Hasn't he written or anything?"

            "No, he hasn't."  She said.  "I haven't heard from him since that last day – "

            "Lets go talk to Allen. Maybe he has some ideas."  Hitomi suggested.

            The other three rose. "Good idea.  We'll all go."  

            With the conversation gone, all that was left was the sound of the marbles clicking.  Koneko felt uneasy. "I want to do something."

            Merle pulled her ears up off her neck.  "What do you want to do?"

            She looked with cunning at the cat girl. "Do you like to play 'spy'?"

            "Play 'spy'?"  Merle asked.  "Oh, you mean snoop around?"

            "Yeah!  We should go see what everyone else is doing!"  Koneko said, standing up. "Someone has to be doing something interesting!  Lets go check it out!"

            "Okay."  The 13-year-old agreed.  "Let's go!  Maybe we can find something really secret."

            "I knew I liked you!"  Koneko grinned.  The two of them dashed out.

            Now all there were were Celena and Suru.  Silence sat around herm until the 16-year-old finally said something.  "I'm going to have nightmares tonight."

            Suru sat still, their matching eyes wearing the same blank look.  "Nightmares can't hurt you."

            Celena blinked slowly.  "Mine do."

            There was another quiet section before Suru said anything.  "They shouldn't.  They are just dreams."

            Celena's head sank to one side.  "I feel them already.  He wants me to sleep so that he can see."

            Suru held onto Leppy.  "He?"

            Celena seemed physically and mentally exhausted.  "I don't know."

            Allen was keeping vigils on the bridge, half awake in thought.  The Crusade wasn't rushing, something inside told him they should be, but he just didn't have the will power.  His mind was sluggish.  Reeden called down from the crow's nest, his binoculars resting on a watchtower set on the slope of a peak a ways ahead.  He could see three or four airships stuck in the area, un-permitted.  "Hey boss!  I think the border's closed."

            "The border?  You mean Asturia?"  Allen asked, sounding groggy.

            "There's military checkpoints and watchtowers up and down the whole line!"

            "Haman is taking action against us."  Allen said.  "Our home is unsafe."

            "Don't worry boss!"  Kio said from the helm.  "We can avoid them.  We'll duck around closer to the Chesario side and stay in the mountains.  We won't be detected if we fly low."

            "But we might…"  Allen yawned.  "We'll be tracked by those five melefs."

            "Don't sweat it, Boss."  Oort said. "We can handle it."

            Allen leaned into the chair and his eyelids sagged.  There was too much to worry about and not enough brainpower to devote to it.  His eyes slipped out of focus as he stared out the front window at the mountains.  Paile looked up.  "Hey, Boss, you look beat. Why don't you go crash?"

            "Huh?"  He looked up, but the comment registered.  "No…No, sleep isn't important.  I can't afford to loose time."

            "Boss."  Kio said.  "We've got it under control.  Take a couple hours."

            "Kio, we have no destination." Allen said.  "The captain can't let the crew hover, especially now that we are being hunted down."

            Hitomi and company appeared on deck.  Allen tuned to them.  Hitomi spoke for all four of them.  Allen, are you going to find Dryden?"

            Allen looked to Millerna quickly, and then slumped against his chair back. "Yes.  That is our next step."

            "Do you have any idea where he could be?"  Yukari asked.  

            Allen stared at her for a bit, suspicious as to her interests, but dismissed it, realizing that he was overreacting.  "I don't know where to find him.  We're dealing with a man who lives on an airship.  That doesn't make for easy contact."

            "Can you radio him or something?"  Jiai asked.  Allen, Millerna, and the crew gave her a puzzled look and she realized what she'd said. "Oops.  You don't have radios do you?"

            "Maybe this WILL be tough."  Yukari said.

            "Do you have any ideas?" Hitomi asked the captain.  

            Allen shook his head.  "He could be anywhere. Over land, over sea.  He could be docked or he could be on the move… there's no way to narrow it down."

            "Let's hope he's not in Asturia, eh boss?"  Oort snorted.  Allen rolled his eyes.

            "There's got to be some way."  Hitomi reasoned.

            "Not that I can think of." Allen admitted.  "Maybe the others might have a hunch, but my mind is exhausted.  Go ask Van and the others and tell me if you think of anything."

            "Alright."  The girls agreed.  They started out but Yukari turned back. "You don't look so good, Allen. You should probably get some sleep. You've been going for about three days now haven't you?" 

            Allen stalled, staring before he answered.  "Yes, I should…"  Yukari grinned to him and followed the other three out the door.  The crew exchanged glances behind his back.

            Merle and Koneko snuck along the catwalk above the Guymelef hanger.  Yosu and Van were below.  The King was patching up Escaflowne, healing himself as he made repairs. Merle and Koneko peeked over the lip of the walkway, the cat girl's tail twitched.  "Hey!  It's Lord Van!"

            "Shhhh!"  Koneko hissed.  "What are they saying?"

            Van was filing down a scrape on Escaflowne's helmet.  There was a patch on his face at the same spot.  Yosu leaned against the melef's leg below. "So."

            Van paused in his filing to leave a button of silence, then resumed so that Yosu spoke over the grating. 

            "You really love Hitomi?"

            Van thought the question sounded suspicious.  Especially coming form his 'double'. "Yes."

            Yosu was leading up to something.  He remembered Merle's reactions hen they rescued her.  "Do you love Merle?"

            Now Van could hear the suspicion even over his work.  He furrowed his brown. "Yes."

            Merle's tail whipped back and forth on the platform above them.  Van stopped but didn't look down. "Do you love Hitomi?"

            Yosu didn't like that question.  He decided to answer evasively.  "I don't want her getting hurt."

            "But do you love her?"  Van said, impatiently.

            Yosu frowned. "For the sake of the argument, yes, I do."

            Van had the hair on the back of his neck stand up but continued calmly.  "Do you love your sister?"

            "Of course."

            One of Van's brown gloves sanded down the now smooth surface of his melef, then ripped the patch off of his freshly healed cheek.  "Then there is your answer."

            "That's no answer!"  Yosu cried as Van hopped down from his suit.  "You and she aren't siblings!"

            "The point is – " Van cut him short, " – I love Merle differently than I love Hitomi.  I don't want to make Merle my queen…I'll put it that way."

            Yosu sank into fuming resolve.  Van left with his own disdain.  Koneko turned and looked to Merle, her ears were down along her neck, her brown fur looking dull.  She watched Van leave and then put a hand on Merle's shoulder. "Don't feel bad.  He still loves you."

            "Its okay."  Merle sighed.  "I knew he loved Hitomi over me. I can't change him."

            "You shouldn't want to."  Koneko told her.  "If Yosu is anything like Van, then you shouldn't feel sad at all.  My brother loves me a lot.  He's always looking out for me even though he thinks he loves Hitomi, too.  I'm not upset about it.  I know it doesn't change the way he feels about me."

            Merle cast her blue eyes to Koneko's matching amber ones and found them full of hope and energy.  A little cat grin lifted her face, and she immediately switched over to a lighter mood.  She crossed her arms and whipped her striped tail along the floor behind her.  "I didn't want to be queen anyway!"  She shoved herself back to her sandals and pointed to Koneko.  "And if your brother thinks he's gonna take Hitomi away from Lord Van, he's got another thing comin'!"

            "Oh yeah!?!"  Koneko challenged, her response sounding mischievous.

            "Yeah!"  Merle said back in the same tone.

            "Yosu can have whatever he wants!"   Koneko retorted.

            "Your brother isn't as good as Van!  Lord Van could kick your brother's butt!"  Merle started to run off.

            Koneko got to her feet and called playfully.  "Come back here and say that to my face!"

            "Catch me first, Neko!"  The cat challenged.  They started a game of tag and ran laughing through the halls of the crusade. Merle dashed around a corner into a dead end.  Koneko ran up form behind and tagged her.  "You're it!"

            "Not for long!"  The chase ensued down another hall.  Koneko dashed up a flight of stairs and ran into Hitomi, Millerna, Jiai, and Yukari at the top.  With an 'oof' merle crashed into her so that everyone was left in shock.  Millerna recovered first.  "Merle?  Koneko?  What's going on?"

            "We were just playing your majesty."  Merle answered.  

            "Yeah, we were playing spy then we were playing tag."  Koneko said.

            Hitomi looked to the others, then began their investigation.  "You two are clever.  Can you think of any way that we can find Dryden?"

            "Sir Dryden?"  Merle asked.  "You have no idea where he is?"

            "Cant you just call him up?"  Koneko asked.

            "You're forgetting where we are."  Jiai told her.  "There aren't any phones here."

            "Oh, too bad."  Koneko said.  "'Cause, you know, I was just thinking… we were spying on Van and Yosu and they were really alike, and Daiji's always on his cell phone when he's not on TV…"

            "Oh my gosh!"  Hitomi cried.

            "What is it?"  Jiai asked.

            The girl's look of shock broke into a wide, hopeful smile.  "I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier!  Koneko, you're a genius!"

            "I am?"

            "What is it, Hitomi?"  Yukari pressed.

            Millerna joined the earnestness.  "Tell us!  Please!"

            Hitomi turned around to them. "Daiji!  We've had our link to Dryden all along!  If I connect Daiji and Dryden like I did the others before, he may be able to tell us exactly where he is!"

            Jiai joined in the excitement.  "Hitomi!  That's brilliant!"

            "That could actually work!"  Millerna agreed.

            Yukari turned to head back where they came from.  "Let's go find Daiji then!"

            "Right!"  Jiai nodded.

            Hitomi took off running with the rest of them. "Okay!"

            "Hey!"  Koneko called.

            She and Merle started running after them, the cat girl with the same mindset. "Wait for us!"

            Hakai was up in the boiler room with Daiji and Amano. Katz was straightening up. "Hey get some more coal, wouldya kid?"

            Hakai jumped up.  "Sure thing!"  He dashed back into the depths of the engine room. 

            Amano and Daiji watched him go with interest.  Amano had his arms crossed. "I've never seen him so well behaved."

            "It must be all this machinery."  Daiji suggested. "He is a kid."

            "Unfortunately it's the fire that's got him so hypnotized."  The 17-year-old informed. "He's always had a thing for fire and machinery."

            "He's got some sense, too though."  Daiji said.  "You saw how he took care of suru and Celena.  He can't be all that bad."

            "Oh, it all depends."  Amano assured.  "You don't live with him."

            "I was lead to believe that you didn't live with him either."

            "You got that right!"  Amano agreed.  "I lived with him for two days and I ran!  I was gone!  No way I'm gonna live in a house with a maniac.  Two of them!  His sister's just as bad."

            "Children are the most dangerous things."  Daiji added.  "but that's because they don't know any better."

            "What do you mean by that?"  Amano asked, not being accusing, but more of conversation filler.

            "I'm saying that we shouldn't judge them so soon."  He explained.  "They're still learning the implications of their behaviors.  The way we treat them now could hinder them forever.  For all we know, Hakai may end up President of the United States."

            "He seems the type, but I doubt he'd get elected."

            "That was harsh."  Daiji said, scratching his head.

            Hakai returned with a bucketful of coal.  "Okay!  Here it is!  Now make the fire bigger!"

            "We don't need it big, we just need it going."  Katz told him.

            "You're no fun!  Its not cool unless its really big and hot."  The twelve-year old retorted..  Katz shoveled some more coal through the metal grate, then poked at it to make sure it was catching.

            "All we need out of it is for it to boil the water.  If we put more coals on, then it's a waste."

            "Really?"  He looked confused and displeased.  "That's how it works?  I can't believe anything gets done if it isn't total rage!  Flame equals passion equals power!  If there isn't a bonfire then its just weak."

            "Profound for a pyromaniac."  Amano observed.  Daiji raised his eyebrows and nodded.

            Van marched up the stairs nearby and looked up to them, surprised.  "Oh, I didn't know you two were up here."

            "We're not claiming it or anything."  Daiji said.  "You can stay."

            "What brings you up here, anyway, Van?"  Amano asked.

            The young king walked over.  "I heard your voice and thought Allen was up here."

            "I hope you're not too disappointed."  Amano replied.

            "Its fine."  Van answered.  "I'm just wandering.  What are you doing up here?"

            "Hanging out."  Daiji answered.

            Amano uncrossed his arms and stuck them in his pants pockets.  "And babysitting Hakai.  I want to make sure he stays out of trouble."

            "Hakai, he is connected to Dilandau, right?"  Van asked, watching the blond carefully as he went about his business.

            "That's right."  Amano answered.  "I can never remember how to say that kid's name."

            Van scowled. "I hate him."

            "You and Yosu."  Amano said.  "Of course Yosu and Hakai are mutual."

            "I was referring to Dilandau."  Van muttered.  "But if Hakai is anything like him besides looks, I hate him too."

            "Hakai hates everyone so I'm pretty sure he's not far."  Daiji said.  He started walking toward the door.  "Love to stay and chat some more, but I'm heading down below."

            "Why?" Amano asked.

            "No reason."  Daiji answered.  "Just going."  He left, but despite his excuse, he had a reason.  That same feeling of depression had brought him down out of nowhere and he wanted to be alone to think.  Maybe staring out a window would help, the walls seemed to be closing in and weighing him down.  He stepped down to a side chamber where the setting sun was casting its last light through the windows.  He stopped and watched.  "Wow."  The ship was moving west, and the sky was advancing through the prism in stripes before him.  "That's beautiful.  I like it on these airships; you cover a ton of ground and the view's better than a plane.  It doesn't even matter where we're going."  He stopped to think.  'Where are we going?  That's right, Dryden.  We're going to meet up with my connection.  I'm the last one; everyone else has met their double.  I wonder if I'll like him.' He put a hand on his strong chin.  'For some reason…I think I will.  I'm excited to actually meet the guy.'

            Just then, Jiai appeared in his doorway. "Daiji!"  He jumped, then sighed, realizing who it was.  He turned and the 16-year-old smiled at him.  "Here you are!  We've been looking all over for you!"

            "For me?  Why?"'

            "Hitomi'll explain it."  She answered, then called down the hall.  "Guys!  I found him!"  In a second or two, the other five girls had arrived as well.

            Hitomi advanced on him, her favor-asking face on and her hands clasped in front of her.  "Daiji!  Thank goodness we found you!  We need your help!"

            "With what?"  He asked.  "I'll do anything I can."

            "We need you to help us find Dryden!"  Jiai replied.

            "Dryden?"  He asked.  "I was just thinking about him.  But what can I do?"

            "I was thinking that I could connect you to him."  Hitomi answered.  "And maybe you'll be able to tell us where he is."

            "Please say you'll do it!"  Millerna cried.  Daiji was startled with her intensity, and stared at her, his eyes twitching and she drew back.

            "Come on, Daiji."  Koneko coached. "You can do it!"

            Daiji turned back to all of them, scratching the back of his head.  "Uh, sure, I'll do it.  I've been wanting to meet up with Dryden anyway."

            Koneko cheered.  "Daiji!  You rock!"

            "Let's go do it now!"  Yukari cried.

            "The sooner the better."  Millerna agreed.

            "That's right, we don't know how far those soldiers are behind us!"  Hitomi stated.  That wasn't Millerna's exact reasoning, but she nodded in agreement.

            "Should we do it here?"  Merle asked.

            "No, up on the bridge."  Millerna answered. "We'll need the maps and such if they point out landmarks and other crewmembers might recognize something."

            "Good idea." Jiai said.

            "We should get Van." Hitomi said.  "Does anyone know where he is?"

            "He's upstairs in the boiler room with Katz and Amano, and Hakai."  Daiji said.  "I just left them."

            "I'll get him!"  Merle volunteered.

            "I'll come too!"  Koneko said.  The two of them dashed off.

            Yukari yelled after them. "Get all of them!  We'll meet you up in the cockpit!"

            "Right!"

            "Come on, Daiji."  Jiai encouraged.  She, in her excitement, stepped up to take his hand and lead him out into the hall.  Millerna felt her heart tremor at the sight of their two clasped hands.

            *                             Escaflowne                                        *

            The thick pine forest clouded the sunset from above the Pravada.  The machine stood slumped down on one knee a hand down to keep its bishop-like headpiece from breaking through the canopy.  It was dark except for a fire, casting light on two faces.  One, a man, one a 14-year-old girl.  She sat with a sword across her lap and one hand fingering the pendant around her neck.  Her thoughts were interrupted by the voice of her father.

            "Ayen?"

            She looked to where he was sitting with his back against a tree, the flames changing the shadows on his face.

            "Are you okay?"

            Her eyes moved to the sword. "I'm fine.  I was just – "

            "You were thinking about the king, right?"  He asked.   She nodded and he tilted his head to one side.  "It wasn't your fault, Ayen.  You shouldn't blame yourself for what happened at the palace.  You had no control."

            "I know."  She said.  "I'm not worried about that.  It was Hitomi – the Eyes's fault."  She pulled on the pendant.  "I – I'm so confused.  If she is supposed to be my double, why did she do that?"

            "The Eyes are just a girl."  Seguir offered.  "She is like you.  She wanted to do what was right but had no choice but to do it in a not nice way."

            "But she ruined everything!"  Ayen insisted.  "Trapan told me that if she took Van or Atlantis he'd kill you!  Wouldn't she know that!?!  Couldn't she feel how important this was?"

            "I don't know."  Seguir replied.  "I can't explain the duplication mystery.  But I can guess this: would you be able to feel her feelings if she could feel yours?"

            Ayen clutched the pendant tightly.  "But I do feel hers!  This necklace gives me visions!  And in my dreams I can see her!  The night before I could see her eyes floating over my shoulder.  She followed me, and she sucked you, Van, and everything into those eyes and vanished with them!  She could see how terrified I was, but all she did was stare at me with my own eyes!"

            "Was that a vision or a bad dream?"  Seguir asked.

            "I – " She stopped.  "I don't know.  I used to be able to tell, but I was so scared then.  I'm scared to death of Sir Trapan!  He's taken my life and he was going to take you too.  You're all I have left and he wouldn't even let me see you. He was evil!  He is an evil evil person!"

            Seguir walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. "You're right.  He and his master are evil.  But that's why we left.  We're free.  And we never have to go back."

            Tears welled up in her green eyes and she threw her arms around his waist.  "Daddy!"

            He hugged her close to him and rested his chin in her light red-brown hair.  He closed his eyes as she cried against his chest.  He'd been so long missing her.  He couldn't imagine how many times she'd cried in fear and loneliness and he hadn't been able to be there for her.  He had the urge to cry now, too.  "I love you, Ayen.  I'm right here."  

            She loved his warmth and his smell.  Her dreams were so vivid when she wore her pendant, that her heart would break every time she woke up.  She wouldn't wake up from this, this was reality and she couldn't stand how big her heart was swelling now that she had him back.  To keep it from bursting, she had to cry, and she did for what seemed like a long time.

            When she finally calmed down, he sat beside her and they started talking again.  "So," he looked at Van's sword lying beside her.  "You really took to the king, didn't you?"

            She looked down and smiled a little. "Yeah, I did.  He was so nice, and he protected me.  For this whole month, Trapan couldn't touch me because I was Hitomi.  Hitomi couldn't suddenly disappear, or suddenly have bruises and cuts.  Van wouldn't rest if he found out about it.  I thought of betraying the faction a couple times and telling him about the evil in hi sown palace, but again, I didn't know what consequences it would have on you or….to him.  I – I think I fell in love with him."  She fingered the gold-set Fanelian seal on the sword hilt.  "I really do.  I miss him.  And I knew he loved me.  I was Hitomi come back."  She let her bare shoulders sag.  "My double – he loved her so much, but that means he loves me doesn't it?  If I'd have met him first then he would be kissing my cheek in the morning and saying 'Ayen, I love you' instead of 'Hitomi'  Its not fair."

            "No, its not."  Seguir sympathized.  "But there's not a lot that is.  Still we can work it the other way.  I know, when thinking back on all that has happened to us, but most specifically, your mother.  I have to hope that somewhere in the world of Atlantis she is living a better life."

            Ayen looked up to him.  He was staring at the mystic moon with a reminiscent look on his face.  She joined him in his gaze.  "I miss her."

            "So do I."  He agreed.  He sighed, then came back form his detachment wiping one eye.  "So, things haven't been so bad for you, right?  You and King Van got along well and Trapan left you alone, so you haven't had a bad time?  I haven't seen you for nearly half a year."      

            "I the beginning I was miserable because Trapan wasn't using me for anything."  She answered. "But once I was out of bondage, or at least isolation, things – " She'd had some terrible times, but she knew he felt bad about being unable to look out for her, so she decided to shift her focus.  "Things were better.  Van welcomed me in and we had some fun, I guess.  He took me out on horseback a couple times and that was lots of fun.  I didn't have to pretend to be Hitomi then, because I honestly didn't know how to ride a horse and he got to teach me.  The first time, when he went out to teach me I fell off and he caught me just in time!  Then we had to chase the horse.  It was great!  The two of us were running around the pasture after the horse and I was laughing!  It felt so good to laugh!  And he was laughing with me, or at me, it doesn't matter.  He caught it on the back of his own horse and stopped it that way.  I was so worn out, we had to take a break."  She was smiling as she retold the story.  He liked her smile.  She turned the question around. "What about you?  What have you been doing?"

            "The same thing."  He answered. "I am head of security, or I was, for Queen Aston back in Palas."

            "That sounds exciting."  She urged.

            "I suppose it was." He answered.  "All the exciting stuff has only happened recently. The Queen's guest coming stepped up security, and then when they escaped…"  He didn't want to revisit depressing territory so told his own story. "Actually, two of the Lunar girls snuck into the kitchen and stole some of that royal pheasant.  You remember those."

            "Yeah," she answered. "They're pretty gross.  I didn't like them."

            "They're slimy, too, when they're raw."  Seguir added. "But the girls dashed around with dinner and I had to send about a quarter of my forces out to look for them."

            "What happened?"

            "They eventually tossed the birds out a window and went back to their rooms."  He answered. "But it made for an interesting day's work."

            "Where are we going to go from here?"  Ayen asked.  She hugged her bare arms.  "It's cold out here."

            "I figure we'll head out to the border of Deidlas and Asgard.  We can stay out there and try to escape notice.  Its one of the most out-of-the-way corners of the world."

            She looked to him.  "So its going to get colder?"

            He nodded.  "I'm afraid so, but we'll get you out of that Fanelian dress and into something more adapted for the area.  I'm going to have to look Deidlan too, if we want to blend in.  What I'm wearing now is a dead Asturian giveaway."

            She agreed and balled up, trying to conserve the head of the fire.  He got up and went about camp making.  Ayen put her chin on her knees, but noticed something.  Her pendant was glowing.  She straightened and held it up off her neck, the pink light growing stronger as she looked at it. "Daddy?"

            He turned and looked at her, noticing the anomaly.  "That's Atlantis…why is it glowing like that?"

            "I – I don't know."  The pendant jiggled as her hand shook.  "Daddy, I'm afraid!  I feel like there's danger nearby!"

            "What's the power of Atlantis?"  Seguir asked.  "Do you know what it is or how to use it?  Is it calling for something?"

            "I don't know."  She answered.  "It just does whatever it wants!"  There was a crash in the dark pine forest behind them.  Seguir turned but couldn't see anything. Another crash, like the falling of a tree echoed through the trees from another angle.  Pine needles rained down from the trembling branches.  The next crash came closer to them and with it, the steady breaking of branches.  Ayen jumped up. "Something's coming!"           

            Seguir noted motion in the treetops rising against the star-spotted sky and knew what was approaching. "Ayen!  Get down!"

            The stallion head of the black knight melef appeared, its eyes glowing green.  It stomped its hoof-shaped leg down and smashed out the fire, shooting embers out to litter the clearing like fallen, dying fireflies. With the bonfire gone, all light escaped and the world became dark.  Ayen looked up, but all she could see was the twilight sky, now incredibly bright and beautiful with the moon and stars peeking through the final lavender pink of the sunset.  Underneath her chest pressed against the ground, the pendant glowed pink.  She sat up and noticed its brilliance, causing the red energist of the Tamarak to glow in response.  She threw both hands to smother the brightness, which still brimmed the creases of her fingers.  She couldn't see her father anywhere; the embers seemed to be sucking all light with them into death.  "Daddy!?!"  Another crash was heard behind her and she screamed.  The silhouette of a Maginot appeared above her like a black wall.

            There was motion across from her as another shape rose up, but the dark outline was not one of the Maginot.  She knew then, exactly where her father was.  The Pravada was alive, and Seguir was inside.  She could hear the scraping of his blade as it was pulled from its sheath.  Her eyes began to adjust to the dark.

            "Daddy!"

            "Hero."  Virial scowled inside his own cockpit.  "There will be no rescue now."

            There was a second's glint of the red chest-mounted energist's glow off the swinging blade and then the clash as the long sword bit against the black metal. The Maginot moved in, Torsion's movements striking the Pravada broadside and throwing him into the trees.  His foot hit the ground not far from his daughter.  She screamed again and covered her head, the pendant dropped and free to glow.  He turned quick and saw her there.  "Ayen!"  She looked up.  "Climb up onto my back!  Hurry!"

            She jumped forward to grab his green cape and pulled herself as best she could onto his shoulder.  Resultant saw her ascent and dashed up to pick her off with his sword.  Seguir blocked with his own blade, friction sparks raining down around the girl as she clung tight to the heavy green folds.  

            "Ahhh!"

            "Behind the neck, Ayen!"  He instructed. "We're getting out of here as soon as we can!"

            Torsion jumped back, her melef coming to rest next to the Tamarak whose pilot was content to wait.  Five on one was unfair, but also unbeneficial to them.  Five couldn't fit around one melef.  He and torsion allowed the beast-dragon Prestress and the young Resultant to slide in.  The clash of another blade and Seguir backed up, crushing pines, trying to keep ground.  Ayen crouched behind the helmet.  Resultant was persistent, hacking constantly at the Pravada's right side.  Prestress engaged the left and two others stood ready head on.  Backwards was all the seasoned soldier could think of.  His daughter's eyes were clamped shut, the sound of metal on metal threatening her sanity.  She felt the chain of her pendant pull along the right side of her neck, the glowing pink was being drawn to the left.  She glanced quickly over to see Vector, the juggernaut nearing.

            "Daddy!  Behind you to the left!"

            Seguir turned quickly, but was met with Prestress's blade across his face.  The grade squealed inches from the end of his nose, holding back the sharpened edge.  This was hopeless, but he was not going to give up now, not now and not ever.  They'd sacrificed to much. "Hold on, Ayen!" his mind calculated a hole in the offense, behind and to the right, as long as he could protect his daughter on the back, he could run and take off through that opening.  He took a swipe with his long sword , forcing Prestress and Resultant to step back, then made a run for it.         

            Virial gritted his teeth, seeing his forces fail again.  He threw the hoof limb of Trapan's melef to direct them.  "After him!  Don't let them get away!"

            Seguir couldn't see behind him, but could hear the heavy feet as they pursued. His own were trudging through the woods with destructive power.  This was their only chance, he hovered his hand over the lever.  "Hang on tight for your life, Ayen!  We're getting out of here!"

            Her reddish hair flying, the girl grabbed a hold of the edge of the cape.  The melef shifted around her.  The Pravada's shoulders folded out from the bishop-looking headpiece, extending the width of the suit to nearly double its previous size.  The arms clamped into the sides, the sword in its sheath, unusable when in flight mode.  Two wide jets of flame shot out of the shoulders, causing the cape to billow out and the machine to lift into the air.  Once off the ground, the Pravada's legs fused and similar propulsion extensions folded from the thighs to the hips and ignited.  A burst of speed took them up into the night, headed south along the mountain range.  The wind was threatening to dislodge her, but Ayen held fast to her anchor.  Seguir took a deep breath and steered away from his previous destination.  Undoubtedly, the Maginot would follow him. He needed another corner of the world.  Another hiding place where he and his only family would be safe.

            *                             Escaflowne                                        *

            On the observation deck at night was a proven spot for thought.  It was Yosu's turn.  He thought about a lot that had been shoved aside by priorities, and other things he'd just had time to realize.  "How long have we been here?"  He thought it out but couldn't conclude.  All the events they'd seen had made it seem that they'd been in Gaea forever.  "I wonder if it's the weekend yet?  I wonder if there is a lot of homework due at home. I wonder if Mom and Dad are worried."  He leaned against the railing, seeing the Adynaton mountains pass all around.  "I wonder if there are any places left like this on Earth."  Earth brought him to look up at the mystic moon, where continents were sketched loosely like a hanging globe.  "I wonder if I can see them from here."

            A sigh escaped.  He knew which place he belonged to.  He was Earthen.  A Lunar.  He and his sister.  And Van was most definitely Gaean. The question was… which was Hitomi?"

            "She's in love with an alien."  Yosu spat.  "Someone from another planet.  But how was that to work?  Who planned it?  A romance can't exist across two different planes.  Its not logical."  He crossed his arms.  "It's a mistake.  Its not supposed to be like this.  A girl from Earth belongs on Earth and needs to stay there.  When this is all over, will she stay here with Van or come home with me-."

             He stopped and analyzed himself a moment.  "What am I thinking?"  He combed through his orange hair.  "What is my problem?  This isn't why I'm here.  I- I came to protect her.  I came to protect her and Neko, not fall in love with her.."

            He stared out at nothing, but noted the blueness of night, the light of the mystic moon made everything so surreal.  "What is this that's happening to me?  I don't want to fall in love with her.  Hitomi is Van's.  I don't want to take her from who she's in love with – " His brown eyes narrowed.  "But can I change my feelings to conform to my sense?  Are these feelings even real?  Jiai's connection made her sad.  Amano's connection made him afraid, and Yukari's connection made her nearly die.  Maybe mine is making me love."

            He shook out his head.  "Truths, Falsities, Faith, Love, Lies.  I don't know anything!  I can't even translate how I feel about myself!  This connection has caused me to doubt even my own privacy.  I can't tell what idea or emotion is mine or Van's!  Do I even have any anymore!?"

            He shot his eyes back up to the mystic moon and calmed down. "I can hold onto that.  That sight right there." He reached up to it, desiring to take it in his hand.  "I was someone before I knew this place, or that person existed.  Perhaps if I keep living there – I won't lose myself for good."

To Be Continued…


	11. Episode 11: Weakness

Escaflowne:   Mirrors 

Episode 11:  Weakness

            "I've got to admit, I'm a little nervous – "

            "Don't wuss out on us, Daiji."

            "It's okay, this is really sort of routine, now."  Hitomi reassured.  Daiji was the only one sitting with the rest of the party standing around him.  He felt more than awkward, sort of on display.

            "It's not like I'm going to run away."  Daiji replied.  "Its just that I'm the only one of you who's never done this before –  and I've seen how being connected affects Yu…"

            Yukari tried to sound reassuring.  "Think of me as a special case, Daiji." 

            "It's not scary at all."  Jiai told him.  "I was the first one, and I'm okay.  It actually made me feel a lot closer to Millerna."

            "I do want to get to know Dryden."

            "Just get it done already!"  Hakai shouted.  "Geez!"

            "Okay, lets do it."  Hitomi stepped toward him.  "Is everybody ready?"

            Gadess and Allen had out the atlas and signaled that they were 'go'.  The other Gaeans paid close attention to pick up any clues hidden in Daiji's report.  All eyes were set on the 21-year-old in the chair. 

            "I feel like I'm going into surgery!"  Daiji fretted.

            "Pretend you are."  Hitomi advised.  She knelt next to the chair.  "I'm going to need you to totally relax."

            "Oh great."  He said, her advice apparently not helping. 

            Jiai and Millerna learned forward and Hitomi took his hand.  Daiji swallowed a lump in his throat.  She brought one hand to where she wished her pendant hung, breathed and closed her eyes.  "Alright, shut your eyes, relax, and think about Dryden.  I'm going to try and coax him out, then make sure you tell us everything you see or hear while it happens."

            He took a deep breath.  "Okay."

            "Here goes."  She could feel the pendant-point warm up under her hand and knew that the connection was ready, and she knew what would make it pick up the other end.  "Millerna, say his name."

            Millerna started, she had never witnessed one of these 'connections' and apart from worry and interest, she never expected to be a part of it.  She looked to Jiai and Yukari on either side of her, then followed Hitomi's instruction, her heart beating fast.  "D-Dryden."

            Hitomi gasped, it was as if a door had been thrown open and an intense string of images rushed in.  She could see a dark room.  A glass of wine.  A chair.  A window.  A library.  Millerna.  Mountains.  The sun.  It was a stream of images like a train of thought, moving erratically and at high speed.  As she watched, they slowed and settled into a dark, empty room.  She was trying to figure out what she was seeing when Dryden's voice entered.  Daiji was receiving his own side of the experience.

            "The world has not set truth according to Draconians.  The fate of the world can be manipulated by the desires of its people.  If this world was fact then we all have cause to despair.  There is no goal to head toward because every path changes beneath your feet.  Any previously conceived truth or falsity can switch their pledge in an instant, making what we've based our lives on right one minute and wrong the next.  What have we to live for when every decision we make whips our horizons around before us, making us dizzy and confused until we finally collapse?"

            "What is that?"  Van asked.

            "Writing."  Daiji answered.  "Someone's writing this down.  Writing a book I think.  I don't know why."

            "What else do you see?"  Allen asked.

            Hitomi listened with her ears, but saw against her eyelids more concepts being to float in.  She was a prairie looking landscape stretch out from another mountain range.  Unlike the violet stone of the Adynatons bordering Asturia, Chesario, and Fanelia, these were a gritty brown with green rising in spires up their faces.  "Mountains."

            Everyone's heads snapped to her.  Gadess straightened from where he was crouched over the maps.  "What was that?"

            "Brown mountains, with grass… or trees or something on them."

            "Those sound like the Ventrags."  Van said.  

            Merle's ears rose.  "The mountains out behind Fanelia!?!"

            There was a flipping of pages as Gadess and Allen scrambled through the Atlas.  Allen shoved his long hair out of the way and jabbed a finger down.  "The Ventrags start in Fanelia and run southeast past Egzardia separating Fried and Zaibach."

            "So that's the area?"  Amano asked.

            "We need something else."  Allen said.  "Daiji, do you see anything else?"

            "Well, it's a desk.  I feel – lonely…"

            "Can you see any papers on it?"  Allen pressed.

            "Hold on."  Daiji's head sank a little. Millerna watched his face, the dimples fading as the corners of his mouth dropped to paint a picture of drear.  He stretched his shoulders back and returned to the task.  "I see some handwritten stuff.  There's a book.  And a wineglass, it's full, but the bottle's half empty.  Its not a tidy place in the least.  There's one that's printed.  I'll try to get a good look at it…"  Everyone hung on for word on his discovery while Hitomi kneeled with her hand clenched around his.  In her eyes and Dryden's head, she saw Millerna wearing angelic Draconian wings.  

            Van's fists were shaking, his patience worn thin.  "Come on!"

            "There's a form.  A contract maybe, sticking out from under his papers.  There's a date on the top… it says.. Indigo?  I think?  Indigo 20-somethingth moon?  I don't understand."

            "The twentieth was three days ago!"  Millerna cried.

            "That document is recent."  Allen reasoned.  "Does it have any names on it?  Places?"

            "I'm trying, cut me some slack here."  Daiji snapped.

            "Don't break his concentration!"  Jiai warned.  Allen smirked and put his hands on his hips.

            "There are some words underneath, but they're weird."  Daiji reported it looks like Liu Biao?"

            "Wasn't Biao Daiji's fake name?" Koneko asked.

            "That's Egzardian!"  Merle observed.  "There are tons of Egzardian with Biao in their names!"

            "But that's a person." Gadess pointed out.  "That doesn't give us anything concrete."

            "There's more."  Daiji reported.  "Three words: Shi Qu De."

            Gadess returned to the map book and Allen began pondering.  "Shi Qu De… another Egzardian name…"

            Hitomi had lost all attention to the conversation now.  She was taken in by the thoughts.  She'd never actually seen into a person's mind before, and knowing that this was Dryden's made her concerned.  Troubling pictures welled up.  She was re-witnessing the war, with people dying and structures collapsing.  She didn't notice that Daiji had stopped speaking as the image or Millerna crying flashed past, and Guymelefs moving in… then the image of Palas as a silhouette, the spires of the castle visible as the sky flushed red.  A flame-color that made her blood run cold.

            Endless sky.  Endless red.  No escape.

            She was in her own vision now – running from the Guymelefs.  She could see ahead of her, the woman and the girl with the frightened eyes.  The lead melef, shining black, stepped over Hitomi's head.  She couldn't run fast enough.  She watched as the hand reached down to grab the girl… and kill the woman…

             With a scream, Hitomi released Daiji's hand and fell backwards to the floor.  A stab ran up Daiji's spine and his eyes snapped open.  "Wha – Whatthe!?!"

            Van fell down with her.  "Hitomi!?!"

            She took a couple deep breaths, the vision repeating a couple times as she stared with her eyes stung open.  No escape.  No escape.  Van hugged her tight as she began to blink again, the crowd not knowing what to do. Hitomi's eyes refocused and she looked up into Van's face.  Her rescue was there.

            "Hitomi?"

            "Van – " she realized that she'd pulled the plug on Daiji and straightened up.  "what happened?  Did we find out all we had to?"

            "Are you sure you're alright?"  Allen pressed.

            "I'm okay – just confused."  She answered.  "Do you know where we have to go?"

            "Boss!""  Gadess cried from inside the atlas.  "Boss!  There's a town called Shi Qu De right along the mountains on the mountains on the northern tip of Egzardia!"

            "You're sure!?"  Allen cried, rushing to look.

            "Right there, boos."  Gadess moved aside to let the captain see.  Allen checked the chart and came up with a look of triumph on his face.

            "Allen?" Millerna pressed.

            "He's in Egzardia headed south!"  Allen announced.  "I predict he'll probably be at the town of Fa Xian by morning."

            "How can you tell that?"  Amano asked.

            "I know what kind of ship he owns, and the Ventrag Mountains only border Egzardia on the far western side.  All variables accounted for, this is the most approximate guess we would dream to make."  He turned to his first officer.  "Gadess, go direct Kio toward Fa Xian, Egzardia.  If we have no more flight problems, we should be there by noon tomorrow."

            "Yes sir!"  Gadess replied, gladly, and strode out.

            Van helped Hitomi back to her feet. "Are you sure you're alright?  You scared us pretty bad."

            "She scared you!?!"  Daiji cried, standing up and rubbing his neck.  "I was deep inside another person and got snapped out like a cheap thrill ride.  I think I've got whiplash!"

            "I'm sorry Daiji."  Hitomi apologized.

            "Its okay, Hitomi." He assured.  "I'm just glad I could get us that destination.  Plus I think I was getting a tad too attached to Dryden."

            "What did you see?"  Millerna probed.

            "Not much in the way of sight."  He assured.  "It was mostly emotion."

            "And – " she paused, "what did you feel?"

            "I felt," he responded, "that I should save THAT information for him to tell you himself if he really wants you to know."  He suddenly sank into a saddened stare.  "If you…if you all are finished with me, I'm going to take some time out –"  he set his eyes and put his hands in his pockets as he headed for the door.  "I need some time – "

            Jiai became concerned. "Daiji – "  But he was gone.  

            Millerna put a hand on her shoulder.  Hakai uncrossed his arms.  "That was it!?!  Snore!  I thought this was going to be exciting!"  He ran out.  "I'm gonna find Su, she'll do something fun."

            Amano sighed.  "I should follow him."

            "Keep him away from Celena."  Allen ordered.  "I don't want her with him."

            "It's nearly 12, Allen," Yukari said.  "Why don't you put her to bed?  Hakai deserves to have some fun, too.  Plus Celena needs rest, I'm sure.  That way the twins can do what they want."

            "We'll go get her!"  Koneko volunteered.

            Merle jumped up.  "Yeah!  We'll go get Celena and take her to her room!  She probably wants the company.  She hasn't been right all night."

            "Maybe she'll want to learn our marble game!"  The 12-year-old brightened.

            "Yeah!"

            Allen watched as the two girls left, and headed after them with his head bowed.  "I should check on the bridge."

            "Lets go, Yukari."  Amano said, finally, putting his arm around her. "I want to be with you for a while, is that okay?"

            "That's fine."  She agreed.  She could sense in his manner that something was bothering him, and walked out with him.  All that were left were Hitomi, Van, Millerna, and Jiai.

            Hitomi looked at the floor, trying to comprehend the vision.  Was it just the sight of war that triggered it?   Or did Dryden have something to do with this reoccurring dream?  At least now she could identify the city as Pales.  Millerna interrupted her thoughts.  "Hitomi?"

            She looked up, Van's hands on her shoulders.  "Yes?"

            "Can I ask you something?"  The queen proposed.  She cast her blue eyes to Van and Jiai.  "Its sort of private."  Hitomi didn't want to let Van leave, but she could tell that her friend needed her, so she nodded, although her heart was not entirely in it.  Millerna asked the other two.  "Could you go please?"  Jiai nodded and moved out.  Van kissed Hitomi's temple and followed.  He glanced back just before leaving to make sure that she was okay.  As the door closed, Millerna grew greatly uncomfortable.

            Hitomi tried to dismiss her own problems for the moment, shutting her eyes tight and shaking out her head.  When she looked up again, she was fractionally more personable and ready to talk.  "So what did you want to ask me, Millerna?"

            "well…"  Millerna clasped her hands together.  Now that it was time to tell, she was nervous and doubtful.

            "What did you want to ask me, Millerna?"  Hitomi charged, feeling betrayed since the queen had sent Van away and now didn't even have anything to say.  "What's so important and private that you have to tell me!?!"

            "I want to know what made you scream!"  Millerna cried, then caught herself and turned away.  Hitomi  realized she'd upset her and prepared an apology.  

            "Millerna, I –"

            "I wanted to know why you were frightened."  She said, meekly from her corner, her heart beating to break and her eyes threatening to tear.  "You were in Dryden's mind – what – "  Hitomi stepped back, astonished, " – what's wrong with him?  I was concerned – there's something wrong isn't there?  If there is, I want to know.  I want to know if  he's alright."

            "Millerna – "  She thought she was misunderstanding.  Why was Millerna acting like this?

            "I –"  This was very hard for the 16-year-old.  Until then, she hadn't truly even admitted it to herself.  "I think I love him, Hitomi."            The brunette's jaw dropped as she stared at Millerna's golden head.  The girl continued speaking.  "I've thought of no one else since Allen.  The more I thought about him, the more I could feel it – It's been a long time since I've even said his name out loud to anyone.  I feel so… confined.  And after talking to Botheia about love – I was nearly certain."  She turned around, her blue eyes pleading.  "That's why I have to know!  What's wrong with him, Hitomi!?!  What's wrong with Dryden!?"

            Hitomi faltered.  She had no answer ready.  Millerna didn't know anything about her reoccurring vision, and she didn't know what it had to do with the current situation.  "It's sort of complicated – "

            "Tell me!"  She begged.

            "I don't know if he's in trouble or not."  She answered.  "What made me scream was more random – I don't know what Dryden –"

            "Is he okay?"  She asked again.

            Hitomi looked up and considered the look in Millerna's eyes.  She was sincerely worried, and Hitomi didn't want to hurt her.  She walked up and put her hands on her shoulders.  The two of them had been going through the same thing at the same time; she with Van and Millerna with Dryden.  Hitomi knew all too well what it felt like to be separated from the person she loved and being concerned about their safety.  "Don't worry, Millerna.  What I saw in there was Dryden's thoughts."  Millerna tightened her face in preparation for bad news but Hitomi smiled at her.  "And he thought a lot about you."

            Her eyebrows rose. She whispered. "Really?"

            Hitomi remembered the image of Millerna as an angel and smiled more.  "Really.  I know he thinks about you, Millerna.  In a good way.  He probably misses you as much as you miss him."

            Millerna looked like she was going to cry, but her heart was swelling.  She wiped her eyes on the back of her hand.  "Thank you, Hitomi."  She managed a smile.  "Please don't tell anyone about this okay?  Especially Allen.  I don't want him to know."

            "I promise."  She assured, and gave Millerna a hug, which served as healing waters for both of them.

            Kio had the helm pointed toward Egzardia.  He turned back to Allen.  "If we go straight, we'll have to pass over Fanelia, Boss.  Do you want me to detour a little?"

            "Stick to the mountains until you hit southern Egzardia."  Allen instructed.  "And get us going as fast as we can.  We can't forget that those Guymelefs are still out there hunting us and that all of Asturia is up in arms."

            "Right Boss."  Kio replied.

            "Teo!"  Gadess called to the errand-boy.  "Run and tell Katz to kick up the steam!  The propellers need to be at the max!"

            "Right!"  Teo dashed off, passing \Van, who was entering as he left the doorway.  Allen turned and noted the king.

            "How's Hitomi?"

            "She'll be fine."  Van replied.  "She had a scare, but that's all I think."

            "I'm glad."  Allen said.  "The last thing I want is for her to be in trouble too.  There is already too much to think about at once."

            "You just worry about your sister."  Van replied.  "I'll look after Hitomi."

            Allen squared up his shoulders, then moved toward the door, himself.  "I should get Celena in bed.  She needs sleep, and it's already late.  Gadess?  I can trust you with the bridge?"

            "I've got it, Boss."

            The 21-year-old moved past the Draconian without looking at him.  "Good night. Van."  Van watched him go with a slight glare, then stepped up to oversee the cockpit.

            Celena was down in the same room with Suru.  Hakai had found them and was ranting.  Allen could hear his voice down the hall.  "C'mon, Su!  Lets go do something!  I'm dyin' here!"

            "Celena wants to sit."

            "Then let her sit!  She doesn't have to come!  Let's go, huh?  Let's go!"

            Allen stood in the doorway for a moment, watching to see what would happen.  Celena was staring at her hands in her lap.  "I'm scared, Suru.  I'm scared of nightmares."

            "What's she going on about!?!"  Hakai cried.

            "I'm scared of what I'll see.  I know he wants to see it over again.  He always does."  She said.  "I don't know who he is."

            "Celena!"  Koneko and Merle finally appeared.  The pigtailed blonde edged in under Allen's arm.  "S'cuse me, Cap'n.  Celena!"

            Celena looked up.  Noticing both Allen and the two clones, but doing little more than stare at them.  Merle scampered up on all fours, but sat on her ankles to talk to the girl.  "We're going to take you up to your room."

            "Yeah, Its time to go to sleep."  Koneko added.

            "I don't want to go to sleep."  Celena said again.  

            "Then we'll have a slumber party!"  Koneko cried. "It'll be fun!  We can play truth or dare and tell secrets and ghost stories!"

            "I'm scared to sleep."  Celena said, her voice small.

            "Okay, maybe no ghost stories."  Merle shrugged.  She twitched her tail and grabbed the 16-year-old's arm.  "Come on!  Don't be a baby!"

            "Big Brother!?!"  Celena cried as she was dragged off her chair and toward the door.   She looked to him and he could see that she was truly afraid and considered what she'd seen that day; the Guymelefs, the fire, the death of her friend Eythymia and her family.   He expected it to be a rough night for her, but she had to rest.  Perhaps having the two girls would help.

            He leaned one arm against the frame of the door, and gave her an unexpected answer, at least on her part.  "I know, Celena,, but you need rest too.  I don't need you sick in the middle of all this."

            "But Brother!"  She pleaded.

            "You don't have to sleep yet."  He assured her.  "Just go with Koneko and Merle and sit up in your room for a while.  Maybe you'll go to sleep when you feel better."

            Celena stopped fighting.  "Okay."

            "I want to have a slumber party, too."  Suru said.

            Hakai started fuming.  "But you were gonna do something with ME!!!"

            Koneko and Merle ignored him.  They pulled Celena out room and up the hall.  "Come on!  Come on!  We're gonna stay up all night!  By the time you go to sleep, you'll be too tired to have nightmares!"  Allen let them pass him and watched as Koneko, Merle, and Suru accompanied her toward his private bedchamber.  Hakai took off after them.

            "Hey!  You can't leave without me!"

            "Stop right there!"  Allen charged.

            Hakai turned back with a scowl.  "What!?!"

            "I don't want you going near her!"  Allen stated, stepping away from the wall and standing straight.  "Leave Celena alone."  

            "You can't tell me what to do!  You're not Amano!  So shut up or I'll make you, hairboy!"  Allen's hand flashed to his sword, but Hakai had taken off down after the girls and disappeared.  Allen loosened his grip on the hilt and realized what he'd done.

            "Was I going to draw my sword?  Against a boy?"  He dropped his shoulders and his hands, and leaned into the wall, his back hitting it with a thud in the dark empty space.  "At what point did I change so much?  I don't remember-."

            Amano was feeling weird, too.  Yukari clung to his arm as they walked the halls.   He sighed, his blue eyes dull in the moonlight.  Yukari was growing more concerned, and looked up at him.  "Are you okay?"

            "I'm fine."  He answered, monochromatically, his tones as gray as the walls.  "I guess."

            "No, your not, what got you feeling like this all of a sudden?  Was it this afternoon?"

            "Perhaps."  He said.

            She leaned on his arm.  "I feel really bad about that too, but what can we do about it?  What happened happened, and while we can be sad about the lives that were lost, there is no way that we can change it.  We've got to just… move on."  She looked up at him again, his expression unchanged.  "Don't you think so?"

            "Hmmm."  His reply was neither a 'yes' nor a 'no'.

            "There's more to it isn't there?"  She asked.  "Something about what happened just now.  You were fine before the whole thing with Daiji."

            "I don't know what it is, Yu."  He said, sorrowfully.  "I feel like I've lost something.  Or someone.  I mean, I 'm sad about Philos, Botheia and Eythymia, but I didn't know them as well – I feel like I've lost someone closer than that.  I guess I feel alone is my problem.  That's it.  I feel alone."

            Yukari stopped him and turned him to face her.  Her brown eyes looking up into his very seriously.  She had her hands on his arms.  "You're not alone, Amano.  There are a lot of people here with you who call you their friend."

            "I know, but I can't help this feeling."  He answered.  "I feel like I've got no one to talk to.  It's the kind of feeling when you're getting ready to cry and you know there's no one to turn to because nobody cares.  That's exactly how it is."

            She reached up and touched his cheek, moving aside his brownish hair.  "Well, you can stop now.  You've got me."

            "Yukari."

            "I care, Amano."  She said.  "I care a lot about you and how you feel.  You can cry on me, and I'll make you feel better.  I hate to see you sad."

            Emotion invaded his eyes as she moved her hand across his face, around the back of his head and through his hair.  She tugged slightly on his neck, coaxing his face toward hers.  He bent down and kissed her, her warmth and love moving into him and relieving his troubled heart.  She held her eyes closed, one hand on his arm and the other still behind his head.  With the kiss, he'd moved his hands up to her shoulders and they stood in at bath of moonlight, holding it.  When they separated, then took her hands.  She looked up and thought his eyes looked bluer.  He smiled and she smiled back, glad to know that she'd made him feel better. He put his arms around her shoulders and she hugged him around the waist as they started walking again.  "I love you, Yukari."

            "You mean everything to me, Amano, remember that."

            He tightened his girlfriend to his side.  The hallway was empty and they could tell it was late.  He finally spoke.  "I was supposed to be looking for Hakai."

            "He can take care of himself.  Lets just walk like this for a while."

            "Okay."

            Yosu had spent a long time on the observation deck.  He felt weary, and was headed back to his room.  He halfway expected everyone to be asleep already, but when he looked in, there was no one.  Jiai was coming down the corridor.  "Oh!  Yosu!"

            Yosu turned. "Where is everybody?"

            "We were all upstairs."  She answered.  "Hitomi connected Daiji so now we know where to find Dryden.  Then he left.  I thought he might be here."

            "He's not."  Yosu said.  "Why do you want to find him?"

            "Well," She clasped her hands, "he just seemed really sad and I thought, maybe, I should check on him."

            "He's sad, huh?"  Yosu said.  "the connection made him sad?  I wonder if Dryden is like Van?"  Jiai creased her brow, not understanding, but Yosu didn't go into detail, he just turned pointedly to her.  "Don't find him, Jiai.  Let him alone if he wants."

            "But," she was discouraged by his manner, "but what if he needs someone to talk to."

            "Sometimes people don't want to talk."  Yosu said, his mind was thinking selfishly.  He knew he didn't want to share what he was feeling then – jealousy, guilt, confusion – and his tone had an absoluteness that suggested a personal angle.  He moved to enter the room. "Talking sometimes makes it worse."  He disappeared and swung the door shut behind him. "Night Jiai."

            "Goodnight."  She said and was answered by the click of the door.  She considered what he'd said.  She still really wanted to go find Daiji and see how he was doing, but she didn't want to do what Yosu said and make it worse.  Weighing the risk with her own feelings, she finally went into her own room and lie down on her cot.  She was very much torn, but finally slipped into an uneasy sleep.

            Daiji'd taken up his turn at the observation deck.  His eyes were heavy, but his heart was the most.  He felt like he'd hit rock bottom in a black pit.  His hair fell down by his eyes like blinders so that he could only see a tunnel in front of him. He leaned on the banister and puffed at his wavy bangs with a sigh.  "I've got no reason to be this depressed!  I swear!"  He sighed again.  "There's got to be something wrong with me."  He ran back through all that had happened recently that could have spurred this change in him.  It was pointless; he already knew that the fault was Dryden's.  "I must have picked it up from him when we were connected."  He slumped down to his knees and leaned against the banister with his mouth against his crossed arms.  "Man, the poor guy – does he really feel this way?  All the time?  I guess so, since he's the only one on that huge ship of his.  I'm glad we're going to find him, I gotta change this.  If he and I are so much alike, then he must hate it like this too.  I owe him that much.  I mean, I always say I'm ready for anything, but I've never been more ready than I am to feel better.  It's exhausting being this depressed.  Dryden really needs a friend or something.  This loneliness is eating him up."  He closed his heavy eyelids and relaxed into the pain he could not shake, thinking of his double like he'd known him for years.

            Koneko yawned into her pillow.  "Okay, Merle, truth or dare?"

            "Dare!" The cat girl challenged, her eyes shifty.

            "Okay."  Koneko straightened; the same mischievous look on her face.  "I dare you to – " She scanned the room with her auburn eyes, then grinned, receiving the wickedest of ideas.  "To kiss Hakai!"

            The only male's red dyes opened as wide as they could get and his face blanched white.  His sights ventured to Merle, who was eyeing him like she would a puff pastry, licking her canines.  His mouth stretched slowly tight across is face as she leaned closer and closer, one eyebrow quirked.  "Hakai….."

            He jumped up. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"  She crouched like the cat she was, then bounded after him as he took off running around Allen's bedroom.  Hakai was fleeing a plague.  "AAAAHHHH!  STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!"

            "Get back here you chicken!"  Merle cried, extreme amusement lacing the insult.

            He skidded to a stop and whirled around, flaming with anger.  "What did you call me!?!"

            "Chicken!"  She sang as she sailed through the air and crushed him into the floor with her arms flung out.  

            Hakai realized quickly that she was on top of him and reacted.  "AAAAAAHHHHH!!!"  All four of his limbs scrambled like a crab's to slide his twelve-year-old self out from under her and back into sprinting.

            Merle snapped her fingers.  "Rats!  Nearly got him!"

            "AAAHHHHHHH!"

            She took up pursuit again, grinning ever more.  "Get back here!"

            "AAAAHHHHHH!!!"

            Koneko, Suru, and Celena watched, the oldest girl giggling uncontrollably and Koneko rolling on the floor with laughter.  Suru called over as Hakai leapt onto the bed, his escape wobbling dangerously but anxiously as he sloshed his way across its unstable surface.  "Be careful Hakai!"

            "Careful my Butt!"

            "Aha!"  Merle cried as a conqueror, bounding onto the bed after him.  "I'll get you now!  You can't escape me!"  The boy stopped in the corner and began to jump up and down, the mattress bowing under his weight, the covers scrunching about his ankles, and the pillows bounding into the air with every impact.  The cat felt her balance failing and clawed into the mattress to keep from falling off.  "Whoa! No fair!"  Hakai continued bouncing and she turned crafty.  "Oh, so that's how you wanna play it, huh?"  She started to bounce up and down herself and Hakai began to lead her in circles.  "I'll get you yet!"

            The bed was taking a royal beating as the two pulverized it in circuits.  Koneko took a good look at the action and arrived at a conclusion.  "Hey!  Wait a minute!  I wanna bounce!"  She clambered up and over to the bed.

            "Me too!"  Suru grinned.  She grabbed Celena's hand.  "Come on!  Let's have fun!"

            Celena looked from her to the ruckus, then put Eythymia's doll, Leptelepitos, down on her pillow so that she could stand and follow.  Soon the whole party was jumping on Allen's bed.

            "Wahoo!"  Koneko cheered.  "I'm a rocket ship!"

            "Wee!"  Merle joined.  "I'm a bird!"

            "I'm a bomber!"  Hakai announced. "Kaboom!"

            "I'm a Butterfly!"  Suru grinned, holding her double's hand.  "Celena? What are you?"

            "I'm – " She thought for a second.  "I'm, I'm a Shooting Star!"

            "Wow!  That's great!"  Koneko smiled. "I didn't think of that one!"

            "I'm a bomber!  I conquer you all!"  Hakai cried.  "I can beat the bird!  I can beat the Butterfly!  I'll blow up the rocket ship before you even take off!"

            "You can't beat Celena so hah!"  Koneko shot back.

            "Yeah!"  Merle hissed. "Burn you!"

            "Burn me!?!"  Hakai cried. "You're a bird!"

            "No I'm Escaflowne!"  Merle announced.  "And Lord Van's gonna kick your butt!"

            "He doesn't scare me!"  Hakai retorted.

            "I'll show you!"  Merle threatened. "I still owe you that kiss!"

            "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!"  Hakai quickly returned to his circles and the five of them began a Carollian Caucus Race around the bed bouncing like giddly little armatures on their first moonwalk.  As they went around and around, Suru got her fot caught in a pile of covers and flopped over onto her face.  Celena, Koneko, Hakai and Merle fell like dominoes in that order, building a dogpile on top of her.  The cat girl finally completed her dare and gave Hakai a kiss while he was down. His face twisted in disgust.  "BLECK!"

            "Victory for Escaflowne!"  Merle cheered.

            "Okay," Koneko said, looking up from halfway down the pile.  "Your turn!"

            "Hmm…"  Merle sat cross-legged on Hakai's back.  "Okay, Celena, truth or dare?"

            Celena carefully weighed her options.  "- - truth."

            "Okay, which one on this ship is the cutest guy?"  Merle asked.

            Celena's face reddened immediately and she shrank back. "I don't want to tell."

            "Come on, Celena, its okay."  Suru encouraged.  "It's a game."

            Koneko and Merle leaned down to hear.  "Come on, Celena!"

            "Um…" She looked around at them all, and finally peeped.  "Van."

            Koneko broke into a wide grin.  "Van!?!  Wahoo!"

            "Hey!  You can't have Lord Van!  Lord Van is mine!"  Merle cried.

            "You mean he's Hitomi's" Koneko corrected.

            Merle stood up on top of them all. "He said he loved me so he's still mine!  I claim him!"

            "I didn't mean to make you mad!"  Celena fretted.

            "I'm not mad at you" Merle announced. "I just felt the need to proclaim to the world that I own Lord Van."

            Hakai was fuming and suddenly began thrashing, wobbling the whole tower of people.  "GET OFF OF ME!!!"

            "Whoa!  Wahhah!"  Merle fell backwards off the bed.  The minue he was fee, he leapt up off of all the girls and darted across the room.

            "All you talk about is girl stuff!"

            "What's wrong, Hakai?" Koneko asked. "Afraid you're gonna get cooties?"

            "No!"  Hakai shot back.

            Koneko wiggled her fingers at him.  "Cooties!  Cooties!"

            "Cooties aren't real!"  Hakai said snidely.

            "I don't know – " Merle said, her tail twitching.  "You can never tell until you actually get them!"

            "Everybody Tackle Hakai!"  Koneko cried.

            "No!"  The boy yelled as the girls all advanced on him.  "Why are you always after me!?!"

*                             Escaflowne                                        *

            Trapan stood in his chamber as Areolar, Virial's fifth captain, stepped in with a new set of soldiers.  The young man saluted and bowed in jerking motions to the man in black, his flame-like blond hair bobbing slightly.  He straightened and stared steadily into the face before him.  Trapan leaned in, he seemed to recognize this young man from somewhere.  The dark figure acknowledged him with the usual greeting to strangers.  "What is this?"

            "I am Captain Areolar of Commander Virial's detachment corps."

            "Ah."  Trapan brightened immediately.  "The Machine!  I know no how you serve me.  Detachment corps?  So you are the Errander."

            "I and a handful of Virial's men complete tasks that the commander cannot complete personally."  Areolar clarified.

            "Errander."  Trapan finalized.  "And what have you returned to Fanelia for?" 

            "I just finished placing Atlantican sentries in Asturia.  I heard that the Commander and the body of his forces headed north in different parties.  I wanted to leave him a note that I am taking this detachment and heading south to Zaibach to attain control there."

            "Hm."  Trapan eased back.  "Zaibach is a big country with many people in its capital city."

            "That is why we need sentries."  Areolar said quickly.

            "I am heading south soon, myself."  Trapan informed him.  "We are vacating Fanelia for the safehouse of the Master."  Areolar looked enraged but this was in consideration of his ill preparation.  Trapan read him with an eyebrow quirk.  "My suggestion would be that you leave the men you have with you here and rendezvous with the Machine up north.  He doesn't know of my movements here.  Tell him to meet me between here and the safehouse….  He has already summoned the rest of your fellow soldiers to him north northeast of here.  You will meet him and tell him of my actions."  He touched the hilt of his sword.  The pink glowed brilliantly for a moment.  He closed his eyes and paused as his fingers bathed in it under his cloak.  "Then we will all head to Zaibach."

            "Yes sir!"  Areolar saluted.  "I will disembark Fanelia."  He bowed again quickly and signaled his men to remain as he headed off for the hangar and the Congruency.

*                             Escaflowne                                        *

            Hitomi pulled the covers tighter around her neck and balled up in her cot.  She could see Millerna's shoulders moving with breath in the dark.  She hoped her friend was having sweet dreams.  Yukari was on the floor by the door, already asleep, and Jiai had been out for hours.  The rest of the girls were probably asleep by now, too.  It had to be nearly four in the morning.  She hadn't checked on the boys, but she felt like they were all settled.  Actually, her feeling was the she was the only one awake on the whole ship.  She felt alone and troubled, like she was in danger or in hiding, afraid of being caught.  It was upsetting.  She lay in the dark of her room and waited for conclusion: whether the feeling was going to go away or she finally was going to be caught by the unnamed assailant concealed in the darkness.  Then the danger would be real.  The resolution came in a different form.  She heard footsteps in the night and the easing of a door on its hinges.  She sat up and uncovered her legs, hearing the door close again as quietly as it could.  The door wasn't hers, so it had to be the guys'.  She heard boot steps move up the hall past their room.  "Allen –" Hitomi decided to investigate.  At the very least, she definitely wasn't sleeping.  She wanted to know why the captain was up this early, remembering that he had barely gotten any rest since this whole adventure began.  She stepped over Yukari and out into the hall, following the sound of his footfalls.

            Ahead, Allen stopped, hearing stocking feet behind him.  H waited around a corner until Hitomi appeared.  She jumped and stifled a squeak in surprise.  He looked down at her, his blue eyes catching the moonlight. "Hitomi?  What are you doing up?"

            She took a deep breath and regathered herself.  "I heard you leave and wanted to know where you were going.  I hope you don't mind."

            He stepped back and sighed with exhaustion.  "I suppose I don't.  I'm just going to check on Celena.  I get worried when I'm not the one to tuck her in."

            "I can understand."  Hitomi consoled, remembering his sister's freak attacks.  "I'm concerned about her, too.  She seems like a very nice person, and she's been robbed of so much."

            "She has."  Allen agreed.  "And is saddens me."

            "You really have a heart, Allen."  Hitomi told him.  "I still care about you.  So does Millerna.  We want you to be happy, and I know that Celena loves you very much."

            "Thank you, Hitomi."  Allen accepted, blinking slowly.  "Sometimes I need to hear those things…"

            Fire. Wind.  Melefs.  Screaming.  Fire.  Wind.  Houses.  People – Flying – Screaming.  Fire.  Flying.  Melefs.  Flame – Shooting – Melefs.  Smoke.  Ember – Ash.  BlackRedYellowWhite.  FireWindLaughingLaughingLaughing.

            Kataphygio burned in a brighter light than it had the previous day.  The houses and people disintegrating before Guymelefs as they sloshed through ankle-high debris, kicking embers in a flurry about their knees.  The sight was seen from the ground, from the sky, from a building's roof, from the cockpit of a melef, from the inside of the embers, heat and ash flurrying, and from behind closed eyes.  The whole adventure was ten times worse in Celena's dreams.

            The Laughter was loving it.

            Down below, three shining people: Eythymia, Philos, and Botheia: cowered helplessly.  Eythymia's  eyes seemed to take in the world, embers swirling in them.  A fountain of fire blew them apart.  She could see the bodies.

            Celena sat straight up in bed, the room dark and her four friends asleep on the floor around her.  They remained so, for the pain of tonight's nightmares was more intense than any other she'd yet experienced.  It crippled her so that she could not scream, move, or even faint.  Her body trembled all over as her hair bristled back and her eyes flashed.

            Blue.  A Purpleish.  Red Violet.  Blue. Red.  Blue.  Red.  Blue.  Red.

            Red.

            She lifted her hands in terror and pain slowly and unsteadily.  As she did, her skin blanched, not in terror, but in actual pigment, becoming pale.  The waviness of her hair became silvery steel.  The innocence left her sixteen-year-old eyes, leaving them razor sharp.  Still there was pain.  Pain that ripped gashes in her head and cut connections, rewiring them, unearthing concealed memories and burying others.  Arrows firing all over her brain.

            His brain.

            Dilandau got his hands to his head, covering his ears the way Celena had in times before, trying to block out the stabbing and the fear.  He was afraid.  He was confused, but his throat was tight and all that escaped was a strangled sound.  He clutched at his sharply arching bangs.  Quickly he jumped to his feet on the bed, Celena's green travel dress a foreign body hanging around his knees.  A scar left by the visit of someone else.  His eyes clamped tight and his teeth clenched in the final moments of the splitting pain.  Swiftly it retreated, leaving him numb but free.  The young man dropped his arms slowly to his sides.  His eyes swept the dark corners of the captain's quarters.  He didn't know where he was or what he was doing there, but he was determined not to stay.  He had business.  He stepped a bare foot onto the covers intending to head for the door.  'What is this place?  How did I get here?  Am I a prisoner?  I remember… not long ago… a room… and the knight… Allen Scheazar!"  He growled.  "I remember now.  I was fighting.  Allen Schezar…  I was beaten back – then Jajuka –' Another intruding stab of pain hit his head and he flinched.  The memory of his guardian beast man, sacrificed for his life on the battlefield, made him sad and angry.  His brow furrowed.  'I'll get that Allen Schezar!  Van!  I'll have revenge for Jajuka!  And the others – my Dragonslayers!  I'll just find the hanger, grab my Oreides and get out of this place!  Maybe I'll burn it down on my way out!' The thought pleased him.  'HeeHee…Burn it down… I like that.'  He noticed the feeling of loose material around his legs and looked down.  "Ack!"  He bit his lip.  Although straightforward and unrestrained to a fault, he didn't want to give up his freedom the minute he had it back.  He glanced to the snoozing bodies then returned to despising the dress.  'What the heck is this!?!  Why is it that I always end up in one of these!?  Dangit!'  He tugged it quickly over his head and flung it across the room.  'Sick'  Luckily, Celena was in the habit of wearing shorts underneath her dress.  Dilandau's attention was turned immediately back to the door.  A cunning sneer seized him.  "HmHm!  Now I'm out of here!"  He bounded off the bed and dashed to the door, grabbing the handle, throwing it open, and exiting at high speed.  The commotion caused the room to stir.

            Allen and Hitomi were just coming up the hall when they spotted the pale boy hesitate outside Celena's bedroom door.  Hitomi's eyes gaped as she gasped.  She couldn't believe who it was.  "Allen!!!!"

            Allen's face contorted into a look of both fury and disbelief.  He clenched his teeth and growled.  "You!"

            Dilandau whirled around, his eyes locking with the knight's and a similar look of rage painting itself there.  "Allen Schezar!!!"

            Allen stepped forward, is fists raised.  "Give back my sister, demon!"

            "I'll show you who's the demon!"  Dilandau shot back.  "You'll see some demonics before long!  All of you insects are going to pop and burn when I come after you!"

            Allen was swelling with sheer hatred.  Automatically his hand grasped his sword and this time he didn't hesitate.  The blade unsheathed and caught the light.  Hitomi was frozen in shock.  Dilandau took a step backward.  He realized that he was getting ready to fight an armed swordsman with nothing more than a pair of tight shorts.  He took a fraction of a second to check sense, then turned tail and ran for his life.  Allen charged after him.  "Get back here, Albatou!"

            Hitomi took off running after both of them.  Watching the mass of Allen's hair, her mind raced.  Celena had changed back into Dilandau!  Hitomi thought that she had been healed at that final battle when Jajuka had been killed.  He'd died to bring her back.  Allen's love had secured it.  This must have been the result of Celena's attacks.  It all made sense now.  The nightmares caused by 'Dilandauic' thoughts.  Allen knew this happened and that was why he would drop everything and run to his sister's side when she began screaming.  He was keeping her from changing.

            Dilandau turned into a side room and searched frantically for an escape or a hiding place.  There was a window at the back, a white carpet of moonlight leading him to the exit.  His grin twitched and he dashed over, flinging out the pane, leaving the frame empty like a doorway.  Retreat was cowardice and weakness, but he'd be back.  Leaving was worlds better than staying at any cost.  He stuck one foot out the window.

            "Stop!"  Allen cried.  Standing in the doorway to the room, the sight replaced his anger with cold terror.

            Dilandau shot him an iron gaze.  "Why should I?"

            "You'll be killed!"  Allen informed.

            "And that matters why to you?"  Dilandau coughed back.  "It seems to me that If I stay I'll be killed anyway, you just want the pleasure of doing it yourself."

            Allen stepped back, then realized Dilandau was regarding his drawn sword.  That body had more than one mind in it; Allen was stricken with a deadly fear of his own hand.  He flung the blade away from him and it clattered loudly across the floor, sliding to a stop by the wall.

            Dilandau raised one silver eyebrow at him. "What are you trying to pull, Schezar?"

            "I'm not trying to pull anything."  He insisted.  "I'm unarmed!  Come away from that window!"

            Hitomi figured out the meaning behind his actions and joined with him.  "Yes, Dilandau!  We don't want you to get hurt!"

            "Why a sudden concern for my welfare?"  He hissed.

            "You're holding my sister hostage in that body."  Allen told him.  "I won't hurt you as long as that is true, and I will keep you from hurting yourself as well."

            "So that's the game."  Dilandau replied.  "You want something from me!  Well tough luck, I'm not giving you crap!"  He leaned further out the frame.  "Suckers!"

            "No!"  Hitomi cried.

            "Don't!"  Allen bade in earnest, stepping forward.

            But Dilandau stopped right there.  Another person had appeared in the room.  One twelve years old with blonde hair and red yes.  He and Dilandau stared intently at each other from the frames of two different exits.  Each, seeing the other framed in their retreat, abandoned them and came into the room.  Allen and Hitomi could do nothing but watch.  Hakai reached up and touched the scar stretching down his double's face.  The sixteen year old stepped back from his hand. "What the?"

            "-heck"  Hakai finished. "You're me aren't you?"

            "Looks it."  Dilandau agreed. "I don't know how."

            "It's the whole connection thing."  Hakai told him.  "You're mine.  Just like Suru is Celena's."

            "Celena - ?"  Dilandau's tongue stuck on the name, he felt a pang in his head that caused a convulsion.  He stepped further away and turned his back.

            Hakai's eyebrow rose in true Dilandau form.  "What's wrong?"

            "Something – Something –"  His red eye shot to Allen.  "Nothing!  Nothing is wrong!"

            "Nothing's wrong my butt!"  Hakai spat.  "You've got one of Celena's headaches!"  The name caused another stab and he balled tighter with his teeth clenched.  Allen stared.  Hitomi could feel the pendant point at her heart begin to glow.  Hakai stomped over and grabbed Dilandau's arm with a jerk.  The 16-year-old's head popped out of his hand and turned sharply to the 12-year-old.  Hakai bared his teeth and shouted at him.  "What are you doing!?!  You're not scared of a headache!  You shouldn't ball up like t hat!  Where's your pride, dangit!?!"  Dilandau tried to yank his arm free, but the boy held tight, his identically sparking eyes focused on him.  "If its not passion its not power!  How dare you be weak!"

            Dilandau's shock turned to a scowl.  "Get off me, Kid!  How dare you accuse me of that!  I am NOT WEAK!!"

            "You're running away!"  Hakai shouted back.  "How the heck is that not weak!"

            "It's – "  Dilandau's eye was twitching.  "It's –" Suru came in from down the hall but made no sound as she peered in the door at her brother and his double. Eythymia's doll was held tight to her chest, Suru trying to protect the delicateness of its name.  The boy's excuse was finally organized.  "It was strategy!  That's right!  Strategy!  I was coming back!  I was gonna come back and kill you all!   All of you!  That's not Weak!  Hah!"

"Yeah it is."  Hakai shouted back.  Allen and Hitomi stared in absolute bewilderment.  Hakai continued preaching.  "You come back with a bigger gun and kill everyone off with no reason.  That isn't power, it's stupid.  You're like a little girl!"

He drew back and Allen's eyebrows spiked.  Dilandau had his hands back over his ears.  "No!  Don't call me that!"

"You ARE a little girl!"  Allen told him, taking action.  "You're a sixteen year old girl named Celena Schezar!"

            "AHHH!"  His face tightened up and he bared his teeth at Celena's brother.  "Shut up!  I hate you!  The sight of you gives me a headache!"

            "Celena?"  Suru came into the room, her eyes bright blue and held wide.  "Is that Celena?"

            "No!"  Hakai answered.

            Dilandau doubled over at the sight and sound of Hakai's twin.  "AAAHHHHH!"

            Suru hugged Leptelepitos close.  "Why's he screaming?"

            Allen concentrated on Dilandau. "Celena!"

            "That's her, Suru!"  Hitomi told her.  She recalled what had happened in Chesario when Celena and Suru had been alone when an attack hit.  Suru had brought her back.  Hitomi spied an opportunity she couldn't pass up if they wanted to get Celena back.  "Suru!  Call out her name!  Bring Celena out from inside him!"

            "Don don't!"  Hakai protested.  "He's not Celena!"

            "He is!"  Allen cried.

            "You didn't see the transformation!"  Hitomi said.  "Dilandau is Celena!  He is a side effect of the fate-redirection process Dornkirk used on her!  He's not who she is.  We need to bring her back!"  She looked to the girl.  "Suru!"

            "Su Don't!"  Hakai shouted. 

            Suru looked around, bewildered, not knowing who to listen two.  Who was right and who was wrong?  Allen cast a glare at her.  "Do it, Suru!  Please!  Celena doesn't deserve this pain and torture!"

            Suru bowed her head and looked at the doll in her hands.  She became composed and chose a course of action.  Turning her eyes to Dilandau, she caught his gaze.  Her eyes burned him with a fire he was afraid of.  He couldn't control it; it seared inside his head, rewiring it.  Those eyes were like his, but someone else's.  They were young, innocent, caring, and very blue.  So blue.  Suru held Leppy up between them and furrowed her brow.  "Eythymia loves you, Celena!  She died but she wants you back!  I love you too, Celena!  So does Allen and Hitomi!  Hakai even loves you, Celena!  You see Leppy's face – half of it is burned.  You are the smiling part.  The part that was meant to be seen!  Come back where you are loved and wanted and needed!  Here is where you belong!  Come out of that dark blackness that has concealed you inside!  Return to the light of life and reality!  Come back and play with us, Celena!  Come and be happy!"  Her exorcism still held a childish mind.  The wooden doll stared with one eye at Dilandau.  "Com and play with me and Eythymia!  You can't go now when we all have fun here together!"

            Dilandau stared at the girl, then stared at the doll. The wooden body was blackened from the massacre at Kataphygio, its cloth hair and tail brittle and broken on one side of the body.  Its face was half scorched, but the unscarred side was smiling.  Cheer through pain.  Delicate Eythymia was eaten by a fire that wasn't fun.  A fire that wasn't pleasing.  He could feel a deep ragged pain rip him apart from indeed.  He fell down to his knees, trying to hold back screams of fear and pain that were signs of weakness.  A weakness that was overpowering him grew from his heart.  Something deep wanted to surrender to it.  For if he would rest in the assurance of helplessness, then her brother would protect her and take care of her.  She would be safe if she could only just hide in the safety of her brother's shadow.  There was not stifling it.  The weak's assurance and the strong's defiance became mingled and indistinguishable.  The tortured mind finally released the pent up emotion.    
            "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

            The four present stared on, Suru with the doll still extended as the youth screamed and cowered, his eyes flashing and his skin channeling waves of color.  His silver hair lost its rigidity and began to crimp and loosen.  His shape changed, the bare back curving to that of a girl's and shaking, anatomy melting and warping as the sandy wisps of hair fell forward through twitching fingers over two baby blue eyes.  Celena's pains dulled, her screaming stopped and she fell unconscious to the floor.

*

            The echoes of screams from inside barely reached the night wind as it carried a chill across the hull of the Crusade.  The bitter cold was not one that would cause Daiji to stir.  The man just wrapped his arms tighter around his chest and pulled his legs up closer as he leaned against the observation deck wall.  Moonlight soaked the area, but his face was in shadow, his brown bangs a mess in front of his closed eyes.  He'd fallen asleep outside with the landscape and the stars.  Something about travel had made him feel better, but still he sat far from the edge and the passing of the hills.  Why go inside where it was warm?  Why go back to the others when, even surrounded by people, he still felt so utterly alone.

To be Continued…


	12. Episode 12: Guiltiness

Escaflowne:   Mirrors 

Episode 12:  Guiltiness

            The Dolgata River bordered Deidlas along the Ventrag Mountains at its southern edge.  Fanelia was stuck in among those peaks, and the river leaked along its sides isolating it from Asturia and Egzardia.  The branch that forked out at the Deidlas-Fanelia-Egzardia corner was called the Elesteena.  This was where the Pravada crossed.

            "Daddy?"  Ayen asked over the roar of the wind and aerial thrusters.  "Can we stop?"

            Seguir couldn't see her through his helmet piece but glanced back anyway.  "Sure, Ayen!  We'll stop when we get into the Ventrags."

            Ayen balled tightly as the water passed below them.  She was relieved when the shore appeared underneath and the slope of the mountains rose sharply.  The Guymelef came to rest behind the first mountain, its flight boosters folding back into its body as its legs came apart and it kneeled.  Its dark green cape settled down over the ankle and Ayen climbed off.  Seguir was glad to be out of the suit and pulled his arms and legs free of the control receptors, feeling stiff and tired.  The spade-leaf like decorations folded out from the edges of the gangplank and he stepped down the cockpit door, looking tired.  Ayen held Van's sword behind her back as she stood staring at the ground.  Seguir's shoulders sagged.  "Ayen, are you okay?"

            She nodded, but her eyes were welling.  She looked up and met his face, then ran and threw her arms around him.  "Daddy!  I'm sorry!"

            He looked down on her head in surprise.  "Sorry for what?  Ayen?  What's wrong?"

            "This is my fault!  This is all my fault!  You, Van, Trapan, All of it!  If it wasn't for me none of this would have happened!"

            "No!"  Seguir cried.  He pulled her off of him and held her shoulders so that he could stare into her emerald eyes.  "None of this is your fault!  Don't blame yourself for anything!"

            "But if it wasn't for me, we'd all be safe at home!"  Ayen protested.  "Mom died because they came for me!  We're being followed because you saved me!  Trapan showed up because The Eyes are my double!  She is Me and she caused everything!  Even the war!  That means I caused everything."

            "You couldn't help any of that."  Seguir insisted.  "You couldn't control what happened with Dornkirk and the war, so you aren't to blame.  That is just how fate played out, Ayen, you can't blame yourself for it."

            "But – my double!"

            "Did you know The Eyes were your double then?"  Seguir pressed.

            "No."  She admitted.

            "Then how can you say you were responsible?"  He reasoned.  "How can you say you were even involved?  I don't hold you accountable.  You shouldn't either."

            She deviated her eyes from his, doubting, then produced another excuse.  One hand snatched the pendant off her chest.  "But this!  I was stupid and brought Atlantis with me!  Now they'll never stop chasing us!"  He could offer no response to that; it was the truth, and Ayen found his silence convicting.  She tore the change over her hair and pulled out of his grasp. "I'll get rid of it!  I'll take it to the river and throw it in!  Then it'll be gone and all our pain and hardship with it!"

            "Ayen!  Don't!"  Seguir charged up and grabbed her hand.  She stared, startled at him.  He took a deep breath and came a little calmer, pressing the pendant back to her.  "That won't do any good.  They still think we have it and they will continue to hunt us whether we shirk it or not."  He let his hands drop and she held the necklace close to her heart where he'd moved her hands. She watched as he continued, his eyes away from here. "Anyway, something tells me that it will be useful.  It may save our lives, Ayen.  Who can tell?  But we should keep it away from Trapan.  He is dangerous, and Atlantis has great power.  Just hold onto it and trust me on this."

            She could feel her eyes watering again.  To think that she could do nothing right, even when she thought of something that might help them, it ended up being wrong.  AT least she had her father to look after her.  He'd always been there looking out for he welfare even at risk of himself.  She felt incredibly unworthy.  She sniffed as she pulled the chain back over her head.

            Seguir turned his deep green eyes back to look at her.  She was on the verge of tears yet again and he was reminded how hard this mess had been on the fourteen year old girl.  He walked over and put his arms around her, leaning down.  "Hey.  It's all right.  We've got each other and everything will be alright."  He felt better with his daughter in his arms and squeezed her tighter.  "I love you so much."

            She couldn't hold back the tears of stress, love, and guilt any longer.  She broke into sobs and threw her arms around his neck to bury her face into his shoulder.  "I love you too Daddy."

            *                           Escaflowne                           *

            The Crusade was also crossing the Ventrags entering Egzardia territory by midmorning.  Gadess had assured them all that they were well underway, and with a triumphant air, he announced; "they'd have their man by sundown!"  Breakfast, their first meal aboard the Crusade, was of stored reserves and was much less than fancy.  Hitomi picked at her salted meat and hard biscuits sparingly.  She'd spent much of the night troubled over Dilandau, Dryden, as well as her Double, and had spent very little of it sleeping.  Still, even over her private thoughts, she could sense tension in the atmosphere.  The culprits from the night before were in a corner of the room playing with their breakfast more than eating it.  Hakai frisbeed crackers at Suru and Celena, Allen's sister laughing and acting right as rain.  She had no idea what had happened to her mere hours beforehand, and her Suru-sky-blue eyes were lit with a liveliness that seemed well rested and renewed.  Allen was also staring at Celena with a hot cup of tea cooling on a saucer on his knee.  He leaned against the wall looking inward.  Yukari and Amano had been joined at the hip all morning and were chatting brightly with Jiai and Millerna who were seated near Hitomi.  Millerna was about to pop out of her seat in anticipation of their quest.  The knowledge that the Crusade was sharing the same airspace with Dryden had made her incredibly antsy.  Hitomi couldn't believe Allen wasn't noticing, but of course, there were only so many crises a man could handle at a time.  Merle and Koneko were playing marbles again, crawling around on the floor to chase stray ones and laughing loudly without a care in the world.  The two Van doubles were like bookends to the room, each watching the marble game with contentment, Hitomi with tension, and each other with suspicion.  Everyone seemed to be talking to someone, but there was one voice gone unheard since the day before.

            The man of the hour, Daiji Seijitsu, had come up late and eaten nothing.  He'd slept the whole night on the observation deck.  When the other guys pressed him for an explanation he'd just shrugged and turned to the window to stare.  Jiai took a break in the dialogue to express her concern.  "You know, guys, I'm worried about Daiji.  He's been moping around since last night."

            "You're right." Yukari agreed.  "I miss his sense of humor."

            "I hope he doesn't stay this way."  Jiai sighed.  "It was caused by connecting him, I wish now we'd found another way."

            "There wasn't one!"  Millerna assured them.  "Not if we had to find Dryden fast!  He'll be fine as soon as we meet up with him!  I'm sure meeting his double and getting to know him like that will cheer him up!"

            "Meeting you cheered me up!"  Jiai recalled.  "You're probably right."  She smiled a little.  "I'll cross my fingers."

            "Crossing your fingers brings bad luck."  Amano said.

            "No," Yukari corrected him.  "Not if you only cross one hand.  If you cross the other ones, too, it cancels it."

            "It's all superstition anyway."  Amano shrugged. "What if I cross the fingers on two hands and a foot?  Does that count?"

            Yukari eyed him.  "They're called 'toes' on your feet."

            He smirked at her, but they both were fighting smiles.  "Shut up."

            "Okay."

            "How should we act when we meet Dryden?"  Jiai asked. "Is he really important?  Do we need to bow and stuff?"

            "No, no."  Millerna assured. "Don't greet him like that.  He's so laid back, he'd probably shake your hand."

            "Just like Daiji."  Yukari reminded her. "How many times do we have to say that?"

            "I'm sorry!"  Jiai apologized. "I'm just nervous to meet him for some reason!"

            Hitomi eyed Millerna, but said nothing. She stared at the table with her hands in her lap.  She, like the others, had their newest step on the mind, but was considering the big picture. What answers could Dryden give them?  Why there were doubles?  Where the doubles came from?  Who Yukari's double is?   The deal with Haman and Seguir and Hitomi's own double…?  All were good questions, but none were foremost on her mind.  The concern she felt strongest for was her own guilt.  How much of this catastrophe was her own fault?  She began to list: The destruction of Kataphygio, the destruction of Van's new palace, the deaths of her friends, the deaths of the fox tribe and townsfolk, the Zaibachian War, even the more subtle things concerning her.  Celena wouldn't be in this Dilandauic environment and experiencing all this pain if it wasn't for her.  Allen wouldn't be so worried all the time.  Yukari wouldn't be dropping out of life spontaneously and Daiji wouldn't have lost his personality.  She felt teary, her stomach knotting in total disgust for herself.  Think of all that would not have happened if she had never come to Gaea at all!  Suddenly she felt the point in her heart prick, as if the power of Atlantis were flaming up again.  She reached up to grab it, but found nothing there.  Still she knew something was going on.

            Daiji knew it too.  While he was leaning on the window watching the landscape and thinking about Dryden, he felt a sudden pain and swelling in his jaw.  He jumped and threw a hand to it.  It was warm, like he'd been struck.  Then suddenly, he doubled over against the windowsill, his arms folded across his middle.  He felt as if he'd been punched in the stomach.  Daiji was frightened and confused, disillusioned as to how or why he was suddenly in pain.  He felt another strike on his face, and several more generalized blows.  Then he was lobbed in the chest, the wind knocked out of him.  There was a final strike felt on his neck and he passed out.  Everyone was in shock as he suddenly slumped to the floor, unconscious.  Those seated sprang to their feet, seeing no reason for the collapse.  Hitomi's eyes were wide and shaking, her heart on fire.  Jiai and Millerna sprang up, as did Allen.  Everyone came around to see what had happened.  Jiai and Yukari jumped down to the floor near him.  "Daiji!?!  Daiji!?!"

            "Out of the way!"  Millerna bade, she knelt quickly and pulled him over onto his back so that she could check his pulse.  

Yosu watched in astonishment.  "What are you doing?"

            "I'm a studying doctor."  Millerna replied.

            Van stared up at him.  "Didn't you know that?"

            Yosu frowned at his tone.  "It never came up."

            Millerna combed her blonde hair back and put her ear to Daiji's chest.  She didn't have time to revel in the idea of who exactly she was close to, but concentrated on unwelcome sounds.  She could hear nothing wrong and sighed when she lifted her head off.  Jiai put her hand on the queen's arm.  "What is it?"

            "He's fine."  She answered.  "He's just unconscious."

            "Why?"  Yukari asked.

            "I don't know." Millerna answered.  "There should be no reason for him to be as far as I can tell."

            "Did he sleep any last night?"  Amano asked. "Maybe the connection and stuff exhausted him."

            "Could we move him to some place where we can lay him down?"  Millerna asked.  "I don't want to leave him on the floor and by the look of it, he may be out for a little while at least."

            "Of course." Allen agreed.  "There is a lounge across the hall that has some nicer furniture in it.  It will do for now."  He and Amano stepped forward and put one of Daiji's arms each over their shoulders to drag him out.  Jiai followed closely with Millerna and Yukari.  Koneko rushed out too, Merle following her friend.  Hakai grinned.

            "Whoa!  Did you see that!?  He died right there!  It was cool!"

            "Cool?"  Celena asked.

            "Its probably good for him."  Suru said.  "I hope he has a nice nap.  I like Daiji."

            Hitomi couldn't believe what had happened.  Her pendant point still aglow invisibly under her hand she grabbed Van. "I felt it!"

            Van was startled.  "Hitomi?  Felt what?"

            "Just before it happened, I could feel my pendant trying to tell me something!"  She grabbed onto his red tunic with both hands.  "I think I made it happen!  I don't know how, but I had to have done it somehow!  The power of Atlantis did it!"

            "Calm down, Hitomi."  Van bade.  "You don't even have the power of Atlantis with you.  There's no way you could have done anything."

            "But I felt it!"  Hitomi insisted.  "I felt it right here!  On my heart!"

            "Don't get upset."  Van hushed her.  "There's no real damage done.  When Daiji wakes up, he'll tell us what happened and I can promise you that you had nothing to do with it."

            She wanted to believe him, but had convinced herself of her guilt.  How could it not be so?  Look at the evidence.

            Yosu walked over and Van gave him a disapproving look.  The orange haired youth ignored the glare and put his hand on Hitomi's shoulder.  "It'll be okay, Hitomi.  It doesn't matter what happens while we're here, I'm sure that all of us feel the same.  We're glad we could come and help, and we have you to thank for it."  She looked up at him.  "You hear me, thank.  You are not being blamed by anyone but yourself.  Just remember that we all support you."

            She smiled at him. "Thanks, Yosu, I feel better hearing you say that."

            Yosu smiled but Van looked put off, each side of the mirror responding individually to her attentions.

                        *                           Escaflowne                           *

            "None."  Trapan said, his hand on the hilt of his jeweled sword.  "None! None of the advisors."  The stones under his fingers were loosing their luminescence in exhaustion and two of his lackeys were removing the body of the final advisor.  Gambero stepped tentatively back into the light of his lamps.  Trapan noted his arrival, his cheekbone resting on the knuckles of his black gloves.  "Pawn.  How many are above you?"

            "One, sir."  Gambero answered.  "The Common Lord.  Then I am highest ranking official in the Fanelian hierarchy."

            Trapan shrugged slightly as he changed position.  He maneuvered the sword so that it was once again hidden by his black cape.  "Finish him off.  I am due for the master's audience and have no time for more negotiation.  Additionally, I am sick of giving the same speech over and over, and while I hate leaving you, Pawn, of all people in charge of this country, it must be secured before I move to meet the Master at his Haven. Consider yourself chief over this nation."

            "Sir!?"  Gambero cried, disbelieving.

            "Just get to the throne room!  I only use you because I have to!  You will be in charge of keeping the people of this country from opposing us.  I have done the same with the minion at Asturia, only using him because I have to.  Now get moving,  Pawn!  You have no business kneeling here!"

            Gambero jumped up.  "Yes, Yes sir!"

            Trapan stood and threw out one arm.  "Soldiers!  Ready the ship!  The forces are moving and the dragons are gathering!  I need to be airborne within the day and southward by tonight!"

            "Yes sir!"  The posted soldiers saluted.  "We go to obey your orders!"

            "As should happen."  Trapan snuffed smugly.  He moved down off his platform, the cape about his shoulders making him a black ghost in his cavern.  The flames on the torches were snuffed to smoke.

                        *                           Escaflowne                           *

            Gadess opened the door to the lounge where everyone had gathered waiting for Daiji to reawaken.  Nobody was talking.  Allen looked up when his first mate came in.  "Gadess?"

            Van had reclaimed Hitomi, putting his arm around her protectively.  Yosu sat along the opposite wall.  Jiai had fallen asleep on Yukari's shoulder.  Amano checked his watch.  They'd been there two hours.  Millerna had been mindlessly combing through Daiji's bangs, her eyes on nothing, but stopped and turned at the sound of Gadess's voice.

            "Were approaching Fa Xian, now.  We'll head south and try to catch up to him."

            "Thank you, Gadess."  Allen said.  Millerna returned to watching the wall.  "Tell us if you spot anything."

            "Right Boss."  Gadess nodded and ducked out of the thickened silence.  Yosu reached down to the head of his sister who was hugging his leg.  Merle was with her, too, Suru and Celena nearby.  Hakai was tearing up fibers out of the area rug.  Amano checked his watch again.

            Millerna then noticed Daiji's head move in her hand and turned to see his face slowly coming back to life.  She jumped up.  "He's coming to!"  Everyone turned their attention and gathered around, Yukari waking Jiai and Hakai even growing interested.  All were hoping to learn what had happened and if it had anything to do with their mission.  The pain from his "injuries" had long since dulled, but his head was throbbing.  His eyes came open to the halo of faces floating above him.  Millerna's expression was repeated twice because of Jiai who looked concerned and wary.  The doctor spoke first.  "Daiji?"  He blinked to get his eyes into focus.  "Are you alright?"

            "What happened?"  Koneko asked.  

            His aching head settled back into full awareness and he suddenly became alarmed.  He threw himself upright.  "Dryden!!!"  Everyone jumped back.  They were startled by both his behavior and his demand.  The emotion carried over on all of their faces as he grabbed Millerna's shoulder. "Where is he!?  Is he here!?!?"

            Millerna was incapable of answering, her heart and her mind racing and her mouth moving without sound.  Allen answered him instead. "No, we haven't found him yet."

            "Find him NOW!"  Daiji yelled.  "I mean right now!"  He moved to get up but Jiai caught his shoulders.

            "Wait Daiji!  Maybe you should take it easy!"

            "Yes."  Yukari agreed.  "She's right. Why don't you lie back?"

            "I can't!" He said, his tones urgent. "I've got to hurry!  I gotta find him!"  He tried to shove himself to his feet but a cage of hands stopped him.  He looked into the faces of the five girls who were holding him down, his green eyes pleading. "He's in trouble!  He needs my help!"

            "Someone go tell Gadess to increase our pace."  Allen said.

            Amano's head snapped around. "Hakai!"

            "Right!"  The blond jumped off the ground and dashed out the door, invigorated by the pressured atmosphere.

            Hitomi's heart was burning again.  Van's arm came off from around her but his hand stayed on her shoulder.  "What's wrong!?  What did you see?"

            "I didn't see anything!"  Daiji replied.  "I just know!  I know it!  He needs me!"

            "I'm impressed with your enthusiasm, but we're doing all we can."  Allen said.  Daiji gritted his teeth and tried again to force himself up.

            "Let me through!"

            Millerna's eyes were moving violently in the light, water building up walls in front of her lenses. She stood with her hands on his shoulders, her body trembling all over. "Dryden," she tried to repress this hidden emotion, but she couldn't, it was too powerful and spilled over her lashes involuntarily.  She turned her face from Allen.

            Jiai was feeling similarly but more frantic.  Yukari and Hitomi had jumped in to help maintain a brace on him.  Jiai had tears in her eyes and was clinging to one knee. "Daiji!  Please!?!"  

He looked to her, his eyebrows knitted.  He flashed to Millerna and then back to Jiai and spoke to her sincerely, watching the light catch in her turquoise irises.  "I'm sorry.  But I've got no choice."  He shoved himself up to stand.  There was no denying that he was stronger than they were and pulled out of their grip, headed for the door.  Allen jumped up to bar his way, his hand on his sword.

            "Sit back down, Daiji."

            Daiji stopped and frowned at him, then stood down, unable to contend with a sword.  Van stepped up. "Daiji, calm down and tell us what happened."

            "I don't remember."  He answered. "I don't know what happened.  I remember feeling like I got socked in the stomach and the jaw.  I don't know anything I just know what I need to do."

            Suddenly Teo appeared in the door. "Boss!?!"

            Allen jumped and turned. "What?"

            "Come up to the bridge, sir!  We've spotted something!" 

            Allen darted out to follow his crewman.  Daiji didn't hesitate to follow.  Soon the whole room cleared, rushing to the bridge to see what had taken place.  When they arrived, Gadess turned quickly from where he was staring out the window. "Things are getting hot out there."

            Allen rushed over. "Is it him?"

            Gadess directed his captain out the window. "What's going on out there?"

            Everyone waited in silence as Allen assessed the scene.  There was a ship stopped dead in the air, skewed a little off a predicted southerly course.  Something seemed very wrong.  Allen stared closely, thinking he was seeing dots floating around.  The noontime sun was making it difficult to tell exactly what they were until a plume of flame shot out the side of the ship.  It took until the sound reached the bridge for everyone to react.  Daiji lurched up.  "What's happening!?!"

            "He's under siege!"  Allen cried.  Another soundwave came through and the captain took control.  He threw his hand out, issuing instructions.  "There're Guymelefs all over his back!  Van!  Go down and get in Escaflowne!  Fly out ahead and clear the space.  If possible, I'll join you for backup!  Kio!  Get us as close as you can!  All who volunteer will be a boarding party!"

            "Right boss!"  Kio cried.

            Van nodded and dashed out.  Merle watched him go. "Lord Van!"

            Allen turned swiftly to Gadess. "I give you control of the bridge!  Take care of it!"

            "Yes sir!"

            The captain then looked to the other twelve.  "Follow me!"  They vacated the cockpit and followed the knight through the halls and down to the loading dock where Van was suiting up. 

            Merle ran over to the foot of Escaflowne.  "Be careful Lord Van!"

            Koneko ran over too.  "Yeah!  Don't get your butt kicked!"

            Hitomi watched them from the back of the group where Allen was handing out weapons.  "Who's coming?"

            "Me."  Daiji said straight off. He got a sword tossed to him.

            "Me too."  Millerna announced.

            Yukari stepped up.  "And me." 

            "And me."  Amano voiced.  Allen tossed him a sword as well.

            Yukari looked put off.  "Hey!  What about me!?  Don't I get a sword!?"

            Allen had one in his hand waiting for the next male volunteer to speak up.  He was alarmed at Yukari.  "A sword!?"

            "Yeah!"  She shouted. "Do I go in empty handed!?"  

            "Well, a lady shouldn't carry a sword –"

            "We don't have time for this!"  She jumped in and tore it out of his hand.   "Gimme that!"

            Allen was stunned staring until Yosu stepped up and took a sword off the rack behind him.  That redirected his train of thought.  "Er… right.  I'll warn all of you, we're boarding a vessel under attack.  There may be some upsetting scenes, but we're going in to take back what is being stolen.  We need to find Dryden and retake the cockpit. Not necessarily in that order.  Lets make it quick and clean!"

            "Allen!"  Van shouted, Escaflowne moving from its dock.  "I'm off!"

            "Good luck!"

            "Van!?!"  Hitomi cried.  He paused and looked down to her.  She stared up into his face framed in the open grate.  "Van."  She folded her hands under her chin. "Come back to me!"

            "Don't worry, Hitomi!"  Van said. "I have a lot of preciousness to protect here."  With that, he leapt out the open door, the warrior becoming a flying dragon that carried the king off.  The Crusade was inching closer.

            "Celena and Suru are staying."  Allen stated. "Hitomi and Jiai should stay.  Merle and Koneko… stay.  Millerna –" Millerna held her breath. "We may need a doctor.  I don't like it, but she can come."  Her breath released silently. Allen looked to the ship, which was growing very large outside the hanger doors.  "Okay, we board as soon as it gets close enough."

            Hitomi stood frozen watching Dryden's merchant vessel as another plume of flame shot out the side.  The pendant point felt as if it was swelling and glowing. Her eyes, large, green and moving in fear, were windows to the "call to arms" mounting in her mind.  Was there death out there?  Was there pain?  Whose?  Dryden's?  Van's?  She could feel the sting of anxiety running down her nerves.  She was deathly afraid, but horribly compelled to see what was living or dying in the halls of that place.  The idea of staying was unbearable but the danger lying within was daunting.  They were going to leave her behind, but the constant pull of her pendant made her mind up for her.  "Allen!"

            The blond turned, his eyes were blue but steely as if made of something fortified for strength.  She realized again that she had thought that she was in love with him. "What?  What is it Hitomi?" 

            "Allen.  I –" She focused back on her intuition. "I'm coming!"

            "Hitomi!?!"  Allen asked critically.

            "No, Hitomi, you should stay here."  Yosu pressed. "You won't do any good coming along and you might get hurt!"

            "You might get hurt!?!"  Koneko cried.  She jumped in and fastened onto her brother's arm.  "Yosu!  I don't want you to go if you're going to get hurt!  Stay here with me!"

            "I've got to go, Neko, I'm sorry."  He answered.

            Celena got much to same look on her face.  "Allen?  Are you going to get hurt too?"

            "Don't worry about me, Celena."  Allen said.  "I'll be back with you before you know it. Just play with Suru and I'll come get you when I can."  There was a jolt and the Crusade quaked about them.  They were very close to boarding distance and a bright white and blue Guymelef had landed on their hull.

            Escaflowne swooped along the damaged roof of the merchant vessel.  This ship was large with several holes in it now and several Maginot parked in an indentation along the side.  He cursed.  "It's the same ones as before!  How did they get ahead of us!?"  He saw three standing still and the leftover one flying around.  It landed on the Crusade.  "No you don't!"  Van steered the dragon down over the surface.  All changing hews a blur as he raced toward his friends.  A yank on the reins and almost unconsciously he switched into battle mode, wielding his sword and his cape.  The heavy purple canvas flew up as he touched down with a bang.  The Maginot turned and Torsion sneered from inside.

            "Well, if it isn't Lord Van the Dragon Tamer?"  She brought up her sword.  "I thought I recognized this ship!  Are the Eyes on it too?"

            Van gritted his teeth and snarled.  "What do you mean?"

            "Your little girlfriend."  Torsion answered. "She's who we really want.  And that thing you're riding in.  Who'd have thought that everything we were sent for would come to us together in one place?"  She brought up the blade and charged in one fluid motion.

            Van raised up his sword and brought it down against her weapon, the blades grinding their sharp edges on each other.  The two helmets of the melefs were close enough to lock eyes.  Van growled through the grate.  "Who are you?  Who were you sent by?  What do you want with us?"

            "My name is not important. Who I was sent by only time will tell, but what we want?  That's easy.  We want to restore world order.  That is an issue even you should understand, Dragon God!"  She threw him off and he transformed back into flight mode in mid-air.  He didn't understand what she meant, but all of this fighting was too hot a situation for him to think.  All he could focus on was getting her away from the Crusade.  It would be in boarding distance in another minute.  As he'd hoped, Torsion's flight boosters shot out of her machine, forming a ring around the shoulders.  She took off after him as he made for the other side of the victim ship.  Glancing back, he saw the gangplank extending from the Crusade's open hatch.

            Hitomi followed closely behind Yosu and Amano, both had their swords held firmly and unsteadily.  Millerna was with her and Yukari came up the back, whipping her blade around at the shadows of the foreign docking bay.  It was very empty and dark, they could hear feet running around them. Allen had the lead, but Daiji quickly strode forward, his sword neglected in its sheath.  He could sense enemy soldiers all around them.  "They're everywhere!"

            Millerna cupped her hands over her mouth.  "Dryden!"

            "Shhh!"  Allen bade her.  "Let's split up.  Yosu Amano and I will head to the bridge.  The rest of you find Dryden!"

            "I'll find him!"  Daiji shouted.

            "How!?"  Yukari demanded.

            "I can!  I just know!"  He shot back.  "Don't ask me how!  Just come on!  He's close and I can feel it!"

            The party broke apart and headed down separate halls.  Allen turned a corner to find crewmen, hired hands, lying heavily wounded in the hall before him.  He suspected that some were already dead.  Two Zaibachian soldiers were at the far end.  They spotted him as he did them, their swords came up.  Allen's face creased.  "Zaibach!"  Amano and Yosu recognized the name and their swords flew up as well, shaking in their novice hands.  "Don't hesitate!"  Allen shouted to them.  "Do whatever you have to!  We're taking this ship back!!!"

            The Zaibachian Commander had one goal in attacking this ship: information.  He and his team had intercepted, invaded, stormed and captured.  The rest of his unit, sent up from Fanelia, was filling the halls like enemy ants in a hill.  They'd murdered whom they could and captured whom they wanted.  The 22-year-old master of the vessel was being held on the ground by two drones who'd pinned him to his knees with his shoulders twisted stiffly.  Virial's lavender eyes narrowed, and Dryden looked up over the rims of his glasses with his pupils set straight and focused on his captor's face.  The Draconian cracked his knuckles.  "I am surprised at how difficult you've made this.  My first impression would be that a cowardly defect like yourself would bow easily to reason.  You are supposed to be so intelligent and yet you hold out against us like a fool." He moved swiftly and drove his knee up into his prisoner's stomach.  Dryden cringed but stifled any cry through clenched teeth.  The captor soldiers tightened their lock on his arms.  

            The merchant took in a new lungful of air and shot his defiant green eyes back up to the bearded face towering over him.  "I've told you before.  You'll get nothing out of me!  Not at the stakes you've set!"

            Virial snarled, his mechanics shifting to impatience.  He'd been dealing with this hassle for longer than it was worth.  "Humans."  He threw a punch at Dryden's face, striking a spot already red from previous battery.  "TALK!"

            Dryden held his tongue, his eye already beginning to swell.  The look being conveyed was not one Virial approved of.  He was of the superior race, Virial said to himself, and he'd beat what he wanted out of this bug.  He punched Dryden's face again, throwing his head to the other side.  

            "TALK!"  Another punch across the face threw Dryden's glasses off, the clatter of their metal body skittering across the floor and a red streak of blood cut by the frames against his cheekbone evidence of the force behind the blow.  Virial kicked him in his ribs and grabbed him up by the robes.  "WHAT IS THE POWER OF ATLANTIS!?!"  

            "I won't –" Dryden winced and tasted blood in his mouth.  "I wont tell you anything!!!"  He shouted into Virial's face, breathing hard, his lungs aching.  Virial'd had enough, clasping his hands together, he pounded down on the back of Dryden's neck.  He was released from the drone's grip and collapsed, senseless before them.  Virial spat on him, but was surprised to hear the unconscious man's voice shouting from the doorway.

            "Get away from him!!!"

            Dryden hadn't spoken, Daiji and the others had arrived.  There was rage on the double's face.  He ran up fast and socked Virial across the face, neglecting his sword and using his own power as a weapon.  Millerna was frozen in the doorway, she'd seen the final words and was staring in shock at the motionless form on the ground.  Virial turned on Daiji, swinging a punch but missing narrowly, the man's head pulling back just in time.  Daiji caught his arm and drove his knee up into Virial's side.  Hitomi was there too, and recalled something Daiji's said back on Earth.  He was a kick boxer.  Virial stumbled away and prepared a rebound, but Daiji's defense was solid.  He dodged every blow, only returning when attacked.  The two soldiers stationed around Dryden rushed in to defend their leader.  Yukari moved past with her weapon.  Millerna stirred.  "D-D-Dryden?"

            Hitomi gasped and looked to the blonde beside her.  She realized with one look that Millerna was having an emotional breakdown and took the initiative.  "Millerna!  You're the doctor!  Hurry and go help him!"

            Millerna blinked for the fist time in what seemed like years, realizing that apart from the cold reality of Dryden's injury, she was the one who would be responsible for treating him.  What if he was dying?  If he were, it would be her fault.  It was up to her to save him. If only she could move from the place where she stood.  She watched very closely and saw a tremor under the green cloak. One shoulder moved shakily and she could see the tan skin of one hand slide out into view.  She didn't will herself, but found herself quickly on the floor by his head.  Her heart froze at the sight of blood running down his face.  "Dryden!?!  DRYDEN!?"

            Her voice stirred him, and with a cringe his eyes came heavily open.  The world was a blur, but he looked up and saw a sixteen-year-old girl with blue eyes and blonde hair bending over him as if it was a mirage.  He frowned a little with a twitch as he studied her.  "M-Millerna?"

            She cried quietly, staring wide-eyed down into his face.  Darkness was taking him again and his green eyes slipped out of focus.  They dropped closed.  She gasped, watching him black out again, her reflexes slowed and she didn't react until he was already gone.  "Dryden!?  DRYDEN!?!"

            Three against two wasn't fair.  Yukari, a novice in all definitions of the word, held off the swords of the soldiers as best she could, her blade whipping up on impulse to block slices, her mind moving too slowly to attack as well as defend.  Daiji threw a punch that sent Virial against the wall.  The commander flashed his hand to his sword, finally taking the fight back into his own arena.  Daiji backed up until he remembered that he, himself, had a sword.  The weapon was awkward for him and he was driven back quickly.  He saw no other option but to retreat.  He needed to get the enemy away from Millerna, Dryden, and Hitomi at any rate.  He blocked a swipe from his opponent. "Yukari!"  The girl looked up quickly, but was distracted by another parry.  Daiji continued backing to the door.  "I'm falling back!  Follow me!"

            "Right!"  She answered.

            He ran backward to the door and Virial pursued.  Yukari dashed out with the two foot soldiers behind her.  Daiji hung in the door to clash blades once more with Virial, and shouted to his comrades.  "Take care of him, Millerna!"  Her head snapped up.  "I'm counting on you!"  With that, the doorway was vacated and the three of them were left alone.

                        *                           Escaflowne                           *

            Allen blazed his way along, picking off soldiers and mowing down armies.  His skilled sword dashed through the halls and blindly advanced.  He didn't know what he was doing.  All he had was a goal, and the knowledge that the allied country of Zaibach had attacked a peaceful voyage without any sort of provocation.  Betrayal was what he had in mind; betrayed again.  There was no way he'd let this sort of violation pass quietly.  He had his mind set on the bridge.  Amano and Yosu had no choice but to follow and defend where they could.  Allen was t heir driving force and behind him, they made it up to the cockpit where they ran into the other three Maginot pilots.  Most of the crew had been slaughtered.  The few who remained cowered below the blade of the 19-year-old Resultant.  Yosu spotted the body of Dryden's right hand, a beast man part rat, shoved aside against the wall.  He pointed  "Allen!  What!?!"

            Allen's eye flitted with barely any interest, training on the black and deep blue-violet of the Zaibachian uniforms.  The front windows were blown in with glass everywhere.  They must have entered through here, and Dryden must have been present.  Resultant sneered at them.  "Yo, Goatboy!  Tank!  Look who's here!"

            "The Knight."  Vector said, his huge frame turning.

            Prestress turned as well, his head moving on his long neck.  "A surprise."

            "Who are you and why are you here!?"  Allen demanded.

            "We're not supposed to tell."  Resultant reported, snidely.  "All we can say is that the natural order is returning.  That and the unification of Gaea.  The rest you'll have to try and pry out of us with your sword."

            "Gladly."  Allen replied.  He held up is blade, just noticing that it was smeared with blood.  His heard flared in its rhythm, then he focused back on the draconian who'd drawn his sword.

            "I like it," Resultant grinned, "this'll be fun."

            Prestress stepped forward and drew his own blade.  "We were instructed to keep our post."

            "Keeping our post will be simple."  Vector announced.  The huge man pulled out an immensely long sword, sized right for his height and breadth.  Amano and Yosu realized suddenly that these two professional soldiers would be their opponents.  In seconds they would be pulled into a true swordfight without any preparation.  It began with Allen's first move.  The knight turned his eyes to Resultant with a hiss.

            "You've violated the peace agreement that has united our countries and ended a terrible war in which many noble figured died.  I'm going to keep you from starting another one."  Allen's brow lowered.  "In the name of Asturia, I have no choice but to fight you."

            "Excuses Excuses!"  Resultant snuffed. "Enguarde!"  He lunged and Allen whacked the point away, triggering a duel-like engagement in which he and Resultant were the only people present.  The younger man was reckless, his form rushed and feverish.   He stabbed and swiped with speed and spontaneity but Allen was not helpless.  The knight was an expert swordsman and once identifying his opponent's fighting style, he adjusted his own hand to match.  The clanging of one blade on another sounded like a warning bell.  Clang Clang Clang Clang Clang.

            Prestress took on Yosu, his grossly slanting eyes and long pointed ears impression less and unmoving.  Yosu threw up his sword and blocked, then tried to swipe but was foiled easily.  Prestress pressed him back against the wall, his sword across Yosu's eyes.  The boy had his sword up straight, holding the impala off, but shaking with the effort.  His arms were already exhausted from the foreign activity.

            The Zaibachian came in closer, his sword pressing harder and his shadow casting across Yosu's face.  The beast man's voice was flat and unvarying.  "Young man, do you want to fight me?"

            Yosu gritted his teeth.  "Yes!"

            "Do you want to kill me?"

            The 16-year-old growled.  "I want to stop you!"

            "Are you going to kill me?"

            Yosu strained against the weapon, frustrated but not frightened.  Still, he shoved against the medal with all he had.  The question hit his conscience.  "No."

            Prestress weakened his guard.  He backed out and let his sword swipe to the side.  Yosu's arms sprang forward, spent, but came up again to clash, this time taking the offensive.  Prestress fought him, but without luster.  The fight was not important anymore.

            Vector was huge, and Amano knew he couldn't handle this kind of task.  This man could crush him like a bug.  The only one among them capable of fighting was Allen, who was busy.  No one was going to save him from this monstrosity.  All he could do was fight it out.  "okay."  He took a deep breath and got into a starting pose he'd seen in a movie somewhere.  "Bring it on!"  Vector didn't deter.  He was truly a juggernaut, a pinnacle of power.  Deep inside, Amano really didn't want him to 'bring it on' and gulped.  "Well, here goes nothing.  YEEEAH!!!"  Amano charged forward, but Vector knocked hi aside and bashed him into the wall.  The 17-year-old staggered against it, his knuckles bloody around the handle of his weapon.  Vector turned toward him again, but something had changed in Amano's approaching, an inner skill had been awakened and a subtle impulse had taken over.  He threw himself off the wall and ducked under the slow-moving giant's sword bearing arm.  The monster was strong, but slow, and couldn't keep up with Amano's quick movements as he snuck around and poked his sword point into him from random angles.

                        *                           Escaflowne                           *

            "Come on, Dragon!"  Torsion called  "Don't hold back!"

            Van growled.  "You think you're invincible don't you!?"

            "If I die, I get no money." Torsion replied.  "And if it goes to fast, I get bored."

            "I'll give you the fight you ask for, but I won't loose."  He answered.

            "Why?"  Torsion asked.  "Because you are a Draconian?"

            "No."  His mind flashed to Hitomi, Merle, and Allen.  "Because I'm not fighting selfishly!"  He rushed forward and scraped his sword along the roof.  It came up and slashed along Torsion's flank but she responded with a similar gash along Van's back.  He flinched in the cockpit, feeling his skin streak open against the seat.  He turned on her and charged, sparks flying.  She moved swiftly but the Dragon and the Armor were one, and moved as one.  Van cut her off and sliced deep into the mechanics of her left shoulder.  Sparks flew as the gears of the arm ground against he metal of his blade.  He tore his weapon out of her and she staggered back.         

            Torsion checked herself.  She could see the sky from the inside of her cockpit, but the gash had missed her physical body by a decent margin, still, it'd been too close for comfort.  As least it was her left and not her right. She clung the sword tighter.  "You haven't won!"

            Van didn't reply, but kept bashing.  She stumbled back, unable to defend and her wounded suit behaving strangely.  They inched back toward the Crusade end of the ship while commotion was happening below in the hanger.  This was where Yukari and Daiji had coaxed the commander and his two soldiers.  They had been joined by three more on the way down and things weren't looking good.  Daiji pulled back, offensive abilities lacking luster.  He glanced to his fellow and noticed a soldier sneaking up behind her "Yu!!"

            Yukari spun around and found the man he'd warned her about.  She threw him off automatically. "thanks Daiji!"

            "Sure!"

            Virial took a threatening pose, his fury wound down into cold efficiency.  "You will die first.  Then I will kill the girl.  For interfering in our business."

            "Uh,"  Daiji pointed his sword at the enemy.  "Dying isn't in my immediate plans, pal!  And you're gonna have to get through me if you want to get to her!  Call your goons off and let's have a one on one!"

            "Things do not work that way."  Virial told him.  "Prepare yourself for the showdown."  

            Yukari let out a scream.  "Ahh!  Daiji!"  He turned and got shoved down, Virial attacking him while he was distracted.    Yukari's upper left arm was wounded.  She'd dropped her sword when she'd grabbed at her injury and now she found herself unarmed and surrounded.  She backed toward the Crusade, which was still docked with the gangplank extended.  Daiji couldn't help her, she could see that he was busy with the leader.  Maybe if she could escape to the Crusade…

            There was motion behind her – then suddenly appeared Gadess, Reeden, Ort and Katz, armed for the defense.  Gadess jumped between the girl and the soldiers.  "Get on board, Yukari!  We'll take care of it!"  She had no objections and retreated swiftly.  Gadess directed his three crewmen.  "Get these five!  I'll go help Daiji!"

            "Right!"  They agreed and charged in with spare weapons ready.  Gadess rushed over to where Daiji was being pressed dangerously near the edge of the hanger, the lands of Egzardia stretched underneath like a steel safety net.  Virial's regulated onslaught was intimidating, as if he was on automatic pilot.  Daiji was relieved to find Gadess suddenly appear with him. The big Gaean had a spare sword pulled and knocked Virial's blade away.  Daiji turned and punched him with his sword-hand.  The commander stumbled to the side, his foot teetering at the edge of the precipice and his sword falling down into the expanse, lost.

            Through all this, the fight in the cockpit raged.  Allen was too skilled for the impulsive Resultant.  The young man was thrown against one of the bulkheads, blood red hair in his eyes.  The young Draconian growled and charged again. "AHHH!!!"

            Allen caught the sword, his eyes a flurry of blue flame.  He twisted his weapon, turning Resultant's hand and slicing a rip in his forearm.  The 19-year-old's blade was slung across the room. The knight kicked his opponent back and he hit against the helmsman's station, causing the ship to jolt and lean to one side.  Everyone on deck staggered against the walls with the quake.  Up top, the shift startled the melefs out of their battle, the bulk of their machines causing them to slide down the slant.  They froze until they could regain t heir balance and cope with the gradient.

            Hitomi fell to the floor in the room where she was alone with Dryden and Millerna.  The Queen screamed in surprise and toppled onto her patient.  Hitomi hit a bookcase and a couple volumes fell on her.  She covered her head for protection as the books landed in her lap.

            Finally, down below, the jolt sent most of the combatants to the floor.  Nothing around them to brace themselves with, Reeden, Katz and Ort tripped and fell against each other.  The soldiers they were fighting fell forward.  One fell on his own blade, gravely wounding himself.  Daiji and Gadess eyed the edge with warning and grabbed a hold of one another to remain standing.  Virial, however, was too close and fell.

            On the deck of the Crusade Yukari gasped and covered her mouth, the bearded young man dropping down to certain death from untold heights.  With books on her lap, Hitomi suddenly felt what would be her pendant leap to life and enflame her.  She threw her hands to it, feeling like it was choking her.  Her eyes were wide and her spine was prickling.  Again her dream of being smashed by Guymelefs came to mind with the image of the rescue woman's death by sword blade.  Escaflowne was forgotten as Torsion saw her commander plummet.  Her brown eyes grew large, being hit by the ends of her blonde hair.  "Virial!?!"  He was going to die and she had to save him.  She jumped into the air, her flight boosters sending out their levitating ring to lift her.  The damage to her left side, however, caused a malfunction in the shoulder extensions and the machine wobbled ungainly in the air.  She panicked and tried to sort out he gyromatics, her eyes darting between her controls and the man dropping, her frenzied hands unable to make her suit fly straight and her left side practically useless.

             Amano darted under Vector's right arm and came around from a different angle.  Mid-attack, the big man stopped cold.  Like Hitomi, his spine tingled up and down his hairless height.  All his awareness was alerted to one point – something was wrong.  He smacked Amano asked, moving faster than before.  "Prestress and Resultant, we need to go now."

            Prestress looked up from his battle with Yosu and locked eyes with his fellow pilot.  The beast-man nodded, then flung Yosu away in the same manner.  The young man dropped his sword on impact with the wall and turned to find Prestress's sharpened point in his face. Yosu took a deep breath.  This was the end.  "Kill me."

            "No."  Prestress stated.  He opened his wings from his back.  Yosu was stirred at the sight, feeling something moving inside of him and his breath coming short. "That would not be even.  You said you did not mean to kill me, so until another day, I will let you live."  The beast man sheathed his sword and took off through the blown in windows.  Vector grabbed Resultant and a pair of broad, powerful wings unfolded from his burly shoulders.  Resultant struggled vainly to continue fighting and stared needles into Allen as he was removed from the cockpit.

            Virial fell down, watching the two s hips move away from him at an awkwardly slow pace.  He wasn't panicked, but felt defeated.  His death was waiting for him if he did not take action, and no one could save him.  He had no choice but to expose himself to the world.  Taking a deep breath of resignation, his secret wings unfolded to catch the wind and thwart his descent on a thermal.  He gained altitude, feeling as if he'd betrayed himself by resorting to these pure white extensions.  Being raised to hide them, punished for revealing them, and raised in the philosophy that his strength was in hiding every emotion or passion underneath layers of perfectly practiced subordination.  Using his wings never felt right.  Feeling himself useless and his uniformity dashed, all he could conceive to do was retreat.  "TAMARAK!!!"

            Van stare4d in shock at the familiar white below. "Draconian!?!"

            The Maginot were parked in an indentation on the far side.  As the three males quickly strapped in, the red energist at the Pegasus melef's chest glowed.  The eyes lit green as well.  The melef came to life, its canvas-feather wings unfolding to carry it over the surface f the ship.  Torsion and Van watched, stupefied as it raced past pilot less and swooped down below Virial.  The man hid his wings again and dropped onto the pegasus's neck, grabbing the reigns and steering it up into the sky.  "Maginot!  Retreat and regroup!  Follow NOW!"

            Torsion shook herself out of her stupor and managed to teeter after him, her heart racing.  The three in the indentation took off and shot out of sight.  Of the soldiers alive in Dryden's ship, those who could jumped overboard, sprouting their own draconian wings near the ground and escaping into Egzardia.  Those of the Crusade were confused, but were conquerors.

*                           Escaflowne                           *

Dusk fell in layers over the gently rolling lands, coating each hill in a slightly darker value extending from the lip of the sun on the horizon.  The Merchant ship hadn't moved short of drifting.  Most of the crew were dead, an unfortunate fact.  Including the proprietor, there were four left.  Now, most of the cleanup was completed, the Crusade was docked snugly in the hanger and its crew were acquainting themselves with the controls of the new ship.  The party had regrouped in a study to patch up their wounds.  Dryden had been awake for while, his condition lasting about as long as Daiji's previous blackout.  This observation had Hitomi's head spinning. That and why this whole fiasco occurred.  Dryden seemed to be in shock, looking glum and staring off into space.  He'd barely said a word. Millerna was still "treating" him, or more like refusing to stop, patting down the scab on his cheek.  Everyone was sitting around, quietly.  Daiji watched in concern, but didn't interfere.  It didn't look like he could help, and he remembered freshly the emotion he himself had felt the night before.

            Van, strangely enough, was talking.  The king was not the type to lecture unless angered.  Maybe it was because of the new knowledge that their enemies were Draconians, he was feeling betrayed or at the very least stunned.  He hadn't been inside to witness all that the others had, either, which might have put him in a fitter mood for talking.  He ranted, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears, his intended target missing the explanation completely.  Hitomi eyed him form her seat.

            " – So that's why we came after you.  We thought you could give us some answers."  He said.  "So what do you think?  Can you tell us anything we don't already know?"  Dryden didn't move, but Millerna left him alone to look at Van.  The king became impatient.  "Dryden!  Wake up!  Are you going to help us!?  Or are you gong to sit there!?"

            Dryden's eyes drifted from the wall, their green dull and lifeless.  They locked with Van's brown ones and startled him with their blandness.  The light reflected as if there was coating of glaze over them.  Millerna stepped back, confused and worried.  What was this?

            Van bid down, sensing something strange.  He hastily interpreted it as weakness.  "So you're going to run away again and take the coward's way out!?  Fine!  We should have left you to take care of those assaulters alone!"

            "Van!?!"  Hitomi cried.

            "After all the trouble we've been through for him – this is how he repays us!  He gets what he deserves!"

            Dryden's face tightened, pinching around his eyes, which had begun to move emotionally under his knitted brow.  He took a shaky breath, then reacted.  Frowning, he shoved himself up and stormed out of the room, leaving everyone staring as the door shut with a pointed clatter.  The party paused in disbelief, puzzling over what had just been exchanged.  Millerna moved from the corner of the room.  Allen watched her cross to the door with a tremor in his heart.  She hastily grabbed the handle and followed the merchant.  "Dryden!"  The door shut behind her with an echo of the previous clack.

            She couldn't see the 22 year old down either hallway, but she felt her heart tugging her.  She found him in the library, seated at a desk against the wall to her right, his back turned to the door.  She felt relieved, but caught herself in the door to watch before entering.  Dryden had his face pressed into one hand, his features cast in shadow and a dark cloud hanging over him.  His other hand reached out blindly for a class of wine.  EH found it sloppily and scooted it over to him, opening one eye to watch the spirits slosh.  He took a deep breath and spoke to it, is voice hollow and dark. 

            "Take me away"

            He took the glass in a shot, and flinched at its bite, then returned to his previous position and reached out of the rest of the bottle., tipping the tail end into the cup so that not even half was filled. He sighed again.

            Millerna's eyes widened.  This damply painted picture of gloom stung her deep as she watched her secret love lay his head all the way down and close his eyes against the tabletop.  She hadn't thought of Dryden changing in his absence.  This scenario was like a bad dream, and she couldn't help but feel responsible – If she hadn't been so cold to him while they were together – if she hadn't let him leave – She stepped into the room, gathering resolve to try and speak.  "Dryden?"  He turned his head slightly, but couldn't see her through the long brown hair that was falling over his shoulders.  She stepped a little closer.  "Are you all right?"         

            He turned back to stare at the tabletop, swallowing the lump in his throat.  When he answered, his voice was muffled.  "No, Millerna, I'm not."

            She stopped in her approach and held her breath, her heart breaking.

            "I'm worthless."

            "Dryden –"  She trembled, hearing the ache of his heart in his voice.

            "I'm a worthless person.  I hate myself."

            "No."  She said. "No, what Van said – don't think he meant it, he was just excited!  Don't –"

            "He's right."  He answered. "But I'd figured that out a long time ago.  I was so arrogant back then.  How dare I think so highly of myself. All I am is a valueless coward who runs away form responsibilities he's accepted and the people he's loved." His fist tightened around his bangs.  "What kind of person is that?"

            "Stop!"  Millerna cried.  She rushed up closer and stood behind his chair, not touching or moving him.  She was afraid she might break him.  "Stop talking like that!  Stop now!  I wont hear it!  What happened to you!?  Where is the man I knew from not even a year ago!?  The man who would help anyone who asked!?  The handsome, intelligent, excitable man that was so passionate and sensitive and full of life!?  Where is the man I loved – " She stopped and threw her hands over her mouth.  She'd said it; confessed her feelings straight to him, and not even being prepared.  Fear like ice water flooded her and sent shivers along her nerves.  Her eyes welled and she turned away, running to the opposite wall, but stopping to stay in the room.  She muffled stifled sobs in her hand.

            Dryden's head came slowly up, he words sinking deep into him, and a blizzard of concepts, conclusions and emotions whirring in him. He snapped his head around to look at her, his mouth gaping. "Did…Did you… just say…"

            She bit her lip, waiting for a response, teetering on the edge of a pinnacle of dreams that would be so easy to slip from and fall to her doom.  The reaction that came was not one she had expected.  She heard his head hit the table.

            Spinning around, she saw him with fistfuls of hair clenched on the back of his head and his shoulders shaking mover violently. He cursed into the wood. "Urrrgh!!!  This is all wrong!"

            Millerna felt her hopes dashed, and froze in despair, but stared at him as he clenched his teeth and squeezed tears from his eyes in frustration and loathing.  "Why!?!  What did I do!?!  I'm an idiot!  Idiot!  How could it happen like this!?!"

            "Dryden – " she took choked breaths, fighting her feelings.  "Dryden, what are you saying?"

            "You loved me!"  He turned on her, but his anger was her misconception, he was crying and breathing hard, completely broken.  Staring into her own tearing eyes lowered his tone. "You loved me.  You loved how I was.  I've left to change myself and make  you love me – earn your affection and you loved who I was before!  The only think I ever had that you cared about I've abandoned!  I am a wretched, stupid, worthless human being."

            She swallowed hard, her lip trembling. "You're not.  You are still who you were."

            "How can you say that?"  He asked. "Look at me now."

            She felt a fiver flood over her face, stepped forward and put her arms around his neck, tucking his hair under her chin.  "What have I done to you?"

            "Millerna - !"

            "This is all my fault!  You tried to change for me!  If I'd seen it back then. I wouldn't have let you leave – I would spare you this. I can't stand seeing you hurting, I cant – " 

            "Millerna!"  He pulled out of her grip and she dropped to her knees in front of him. He grabbed her shoulders. "Don't you dare blame yourself for anything! Nothing's your fault!"

            "It is!"  She insisted.

            "I can't believe I've hurt you too." He said. "If I'd stayed perhaps we'd both be happy. Now no one is.  If I hadn't tried to improve my worth, you would still love me."

            She gasped, realizing what he thought.  There was still hope left in her.  "I still love you anyway."

            "How can you?"

            "I do."  She said. "I love who you are.  I fell in love with your love.  If you still love me – "  She held her tongue, not wanting to assume too much.

            His broad shoulders sagged and he looked astonished. The fear and sorrow seemed to escape his green eyes as they narrowed enough to regain a shine she recognized. "If?  Millerna – I fell in love with you before I met you.  I loved you more every second we spent together. You're the reason for everything I do nowadays.  You're what's kept me going. There will not be a day of my life that I will not be in love with you."

            She was glowing inside. The girl got up and jumped into his arms, giving him the embrace she'd dreamed about every night and having him return it with more sincerity than she thought she could feel from another human being.  The feeling was mutual. Dryden pressed his face into her neck, confused but undoubtedly heartened.  His path of working for worthiness was incomplete, but unimportant. They were in love with each other and that was a proclaimed truth, however unbelievable it may seem.  And they held each other in that way for a long time.  When they finally came apart, it was so that they could see each other's faces again.

            "So you'll take me back?"  Dryden asked. "Even if I'm a runaway that failed to improve himself and can't defend his ship worth squat?" She smiled, hearing a touch of his humor back.  There was even the hint of a smile on his face.     

            "Like you said, you always get what you want."

            "Ugg!"  He rolled his eyes and shook his head.  "Don't say it like that."

            She grabbed is wrist and beckoned him to stand. "Everyone's probably waiting for us."

            He looked to the door as if they were on the other side.  "You're probably right.  Why did you all come after me anyway?"

            "We thought you could help answer some questions."  She told him.  "And some of us had other reasons."

            "Somebody pinch me."  He said, he stood up and put his arm around her shoulders.  She hugged to his waist.  "Yeah."

            "What do we do now!?"  Van demanded, sitting next to Hitomi with his chin in one fist.  "This was 'the next step' and that obviously didn't work out!  We'll get no further here, where do we go?"

            "I don't know."  Allen admitted. "I don't know what we should do.  That is one of the questions that will go unanswered."

            "I think you all are giving up too easy."  Daiji huffed.  "We just got here."

            "don't pay attention to him."  Van said, critically.  "He's the double."  Daiji's eyes narrowed.

            "How can you be so mean!?"  Jiai demanded.  "This is so childish!"

            "She shouldn't be credited either."  Van stated.  Jiai looked hurt.

            Yukari spoke as a mediator. "Come on, now.  There's no need to judge people.  We're all just tired and frustrated and I'm sure Dryden's the same!  His home was attacked after all!"

            Just then the door opened and everyone shut their mouths to watch Millerna enter.  She came in and looked directly to Hitomi, whose green eyes were searching for a sign.  The queen smiled secretly at her and held the door for the master of the house who followed her in with his head bowed.  To everyone's surprise, when he looked up, he had a big Dryden smile on his face.  "Alright, so where do we start?"

            Van was astonished but Merle and Koneko jumped up from beside him.  "Does that mean you'll help us out!?!"

            "Of course."  He answered as if there was never any doubt.  "Always ready to help.  Anyway I can, I'm at your disposal."

            "Ready for Anything."  Daiji said, warmly, and identical smile on his mirrored face.

To be Continued…


	13. Episode 13: Consciousness

Escaflowne:   Mirrors 

Episode 13:  Consciousness

            The city was dark and crowded.  The buildings were holding on like the last hope of an apocalyptic metropolis, green glowing lights on the weary stone walls and dry gray dirt filling the cracks in the slate plated street.  There was a cold ocean wind moving swiftly down the night-shrouded alleys, kicking the silt out of the grout to create a dirty fog that hung waist high about the travelers as they elbowed through the damp and nasty crowd.  Ayen could feel the filth in her shoes and caking her legs as she was pulled between people, connected to her father by the hand.  Her free hand clutched a cloak about her head to disguise her Fanelian dress and Asturian eyes.  She was deathly afraid of loosing hold of him.  "Daddy!"

            Seguir pulled her up to his side, a similar cloak across his shoulders.  She grabbed tighter to his hand.  "Don't worry, Ayen.  We're almost there."

            A stranger bumped into her and she looked up to find a wolf-man, the green lamplight shining brightly off his eyes.  "Ahh!"

            "Shh!"  He squeezed her hand and she pulled tight to his arm.  "Don't worry, I won't let anyone hurt you."

            The fourteen-year-old followed as he waded through the strange people. The wind desert-cold, fluttered her clothes and froze her ankles.  As promised, they soon arrived at an old, broken down building, showing greater shambles than the others around it and set back in the shadows.  One window at the top left flickered on and off, casting a pallid green glow on the wall in pattern less flashings.  She knew at first glance that she didn't want to go in, but was being lead by her father out of the wind and hoard of dusty strangers so she relied on trust and the blessed assurance that she was leaving the street.  Inside seemed nearly as dingy as the outside minus the wind.  The short she'd witnessed on the second floor affected all the central power lights.  It looked lie a green, thunder less lighting storm was raging outside, causing the room to alternate between pale green illumination and darkness with the exception of one candle lamp that remained lighted throughout the flashing.  Seguir took down his hood and approached the gruff-looking man behind the counter that extended from the near wall.  The man looked up from under his bushy eyebrows.  "What do you want?"

            "We'd like lodging."  Seguir answered.

            The gruff man looked down at Ayen and she felt sick.  He spoke again.  "How long?"

            "That's undecided as yet."  Seguir answered.

            One of the hairy eyebrows went up.  "You talk real fancy.  What's your name?"

            "Valence."  He answered.  Ayen's green eyes edged up to his face. He'd come prepared with an alias.  "Pascinian Valence."

            "Local?"  The man guessed.  Seguir nodded slowly.  The man sifted through a drawer. "Never have guessed.  You don't look Zaibachian."

            "We've been abroad."  Seguir answered shortly.  

            The clerk put a key and chain on the tabletop and shoved it toward Seguir.  "B4 upstairs.  I'll expect pay in the morning."

            "Thank you." The bronze haired man took the key and walked to the stairs with Ayen still tightly held.  She watched the deskman until they were out of sight on the top floor.  The second story was dark and stricken with the same disease of light as the lower and the exterior.  Seguir found their door and juggled the key in one hand so that he wouldn't have to loose contact with his daughter until they were safely inside.  There was a thud and the sound of breaking glass in the door beside her.  Ayen let out a squeak and hid behind his back.  A dark alcoholic smelling liquid pooled under the door and leaked into the hall.  She could see it in the flashings of the lights inside the room.  Seguir got their door open.  "Come on."

            Inside, there were two beds in varied states of disrepair.  The blankets had stains on them from what looked like food and dirty water.  There was a sink in the corner and the mirror on the dressing table was cracked.  Ayen's nausea was tripled at the sight.  They turned on the overhead light to find the same short in effect.  Seguir turned it off.  

            "Light the lamp on the wall, Ayen.  I can't stand these lights anymore."  She walked over and did as she was told, not wanting to complain about her disgust, but kept her face taught and her mouth shut.  The thought of sleeping here was revolting.  He tore off his cloak and let his shoulders sag.  "I'm sorry about the state of this place, but they'll never think to find us here. Knowing Trapan, he'll avoid searching places he figures we'll find uncomfortable."  Ayen folded her hands and sighed in the light of the lamp.  He walked over and put his hands on her shoulders.  "I'm really sorry.  I know this looks bad, but we've got to get through it if we want to stay alive."

            "I realize that."  She said.  "Its just so-"

            He took off her cloak. "Why don't' you get some rest?  We haven't been able to have any for a while."  He glanced to the bed, and then gave her the cloak back.  "And sleep on this, who knows what diseases you'll catch from that thing."  He moved off to make his own bad.  

            She looked up.  "Daddy?"

            He turned. "Yes?"

            "I'm glad you're here with me."

            He smiled a little to her.  "I'm glad you're with me too."  She lay down on her cloak, her head in the hood and he did the same on the other mattress.  The lamp was put out and they were left in the dark with the sound of a restless dirty street and the neighbors.  

            Ayen turned away from the window and looked to her father who was lost in the dark despite the periodic green lighting.  "I love you."

            "I love you too, Ayen."

            And with that, she was able to close her eyes and the place where she was at was not all that bad.

*                           Escaflowne                           *

            "So what you're telling me is-" Dryden appealed, "that you had a dream and then began to find connections between your friends on Earth and us here in Gaea."

            "Yes, no wait –no" Hitomi answered.  "I found the connections before I had the dream."

            "Before?"  He leaned forward.

            She nodded. "Yes, I ran into all of you before I even had the dream with my double in it."

            "She was in your dream!?" Van cried.  He hadn't heard the whole story either, and was very interested in this point.

            Dryden stayed him by raising his hand.  "Hold on, we'll get to that in a minute.  Let me get the time frame down."

            "I had the dream a week after, and I knew that Van was in trouble."  Hitomi continued.  "But I didn't have my Atlantis pendant, so I couldn't get back to Gaea.  So I came up with the idea that if I found Yosu –" She looked to him and her eyes stuck, "-I would have an idea of what to do."

            "And when she went looking for him, she found all of us."  Jiai smiled.  "I mean, she already knew me and Yukari and Amano, but she didn't make the connection."

            "No pun intended."  Daiji grinned.

            A half-smile hit Dryden's face to. "Right."

            "But when she got us all together we teleported here and ended up in Asturia."  Amano continued.  

            "That's where we learned about Seguir and Haman and their plot against the queen."  Yukari said.

            "Wait a sec –" Dryden interrupted.  "There's a plot now?  And are we talking about the same Haman?  The one who was vizier to King Aston with Dad?"

            Millerna nodded.  Koneko looked confused.  "Wait?  Who's your dad?"

            "Meiden was my father."  Dryden answered.

            "Did we see him in Asturia?"  Yukari asked, looking at Hitomi.

            Allen answered instead.  "You couldn't have.  He passed away coming up on three months ago."

            Concern struck many present, feeling that they already knew Dryden through Daiji, who himself looked up in alarm.  Meiden's son sighed and shrugged slightly. "Its past.  Its just something else to get over."

            "That's rough."  Daiji sympathized.

            Millerna was stricken.  "I'm sorry!  I should have sent a card or something!  I'm horrible."

            "I guess that makes us even."  Dryden said.  "But anyway, you were telling a story –"

            "Oh!  Right!"  Hitomi took up again. "We regrouped with Millerna and Allen and decided we had to come help Van.  So we snuck out of the palace and flew to Fanelia."

            "But we had some problems."  Allen added.  "We had mechanical difficulties and had to stop in Chesario where we met with Gadess's cousin and his family."

            "Philos and Botheia helped us out a lot and flew us to Fanelia where we snuck into the palace, got Van and Merle and left."  Jiai said.

            "Needless to say it wasn't THAT simple."  Daiji said.  "It took a lot of work and a lot of planning, and a lot of stuff went wrong, but we managed anyway."

            "When we went back to Chesario," Hitomi continued, "we were attacked and forced to run away.  That was when we came looking for you."

            "To see if I had answers to questions."  Dryden concluded.

            "That's right."

            "Okay." Dryden mediated.  "Now tell me about this connection thing.  What's its origin?"

            "We don't know how or why we are connected."  Yosu answered.  "All we know is that we all have experienced some tie to our double and that it influences the way we think and behave."

            "I haven't noticed an influence like that."  Koneko said.

            "I have."  Jiai volunteered.  "When Millerna was sad, I felt very sad.  And I sometimes get gut feelings about people or places."

            "Millerna?  Do you have these feelings related to her?"  Dryden asked.

            Millerna thought.  "I don't know.  I have been happier lately, but that may just be because I'm with all of you.  I haven't noted any oddities in myself."

            "I can feel you really strong sometimes."  Daiji said to his double next to him.  "Only just recently has it really shown.  Actually, last night was when I consciously noticed it for the first time."

            "Really?"  Dryden found this fascinating.  "What prompted it do you think?"

            "Last night was the first time I actually got "Connected"" Daiji explained.  "The process concerned is, you see, that one of us relaxes ourselves and allows Hitomi to use us as a doorway to one of you.  When we are connected sometimes we experience sights or sounds or emotions concerning the other end… or a combination.  When I was connected, I could see through your eyes and feel what you felt.  After it was over, I couldn't shake it off.  I hope I'm not divulging any secrets but when you and I were connected, I could really feel your sadness.  I mean it got me really depressed and I stayed depressed until we met up with you.  I had never felt you so strongly before."

            "You left out one important point."  Millerna interrupted.  "You passed out."

            Dryden's eyebrows spiked, stretching a bruise around one of his eyes.  "What?"

            "He passed out this morning for no good reason."  Jiai answered.

            "For how long?"  Dryden asked, growing suspicious.  

            "A couple hours about."  Amano answered.  "About as – "

            "About as long as me?"  Dryden pressed.

            Amano comprehended. "That's right."

            "And before I lost consciousness, I remember feeling like I was being assaulted."  Daiji recalled.  Everyone looked intently at him. "Like I was being beaten."

            "That sounds very familiar."  Van said, looking to Dryden.

            The merchant nodded.  "Were there any of these sort of occurrences in anyone else?"

            "I already told you about how I felt sad."  Jiai said.

            "But when I connected you, Jiai, the image I saw was in the evening." Hitomi said.  "When you felt it was in the morning."

            "More time skewing."  Yosu observed.  "So I guess the whole thing is not exactly synchronized."

            "How can we expect it to be?"  Yukari asked.

            "How can we set rules on anything concerning this anomaly when we cannot even determine that it is?"  Dryden set.  "Right now, my suggestion is not to pool information as would typically be the case in a situation like this, but for us to take it one mystery at a time."  He got up and stood in the middle of the circle, his broad shoulders and robed layers giving the illusion of immense size.  He lessened the effect by drawing back the side of his green over cloak and putting a hand on one hip.  "Add as you have something to add, but this is what I'm theorizing from what I've gotten so far."  Everyone paid attention, Hitomi staring hopefully.  Maybe now the problem would be solved.  Dryden began to speak.  "Now, apart from time and order of events, I have observed some details about all of this and all of you that I think are important.  For instance, there is one of you for every one of us.  You applied the term 'connection' and suggested that these associations were developed by some untold stimulus.  But that would leave the questions of what stimulated it and why."

            Allen cleared his throat and got the group's attention.  He bent over with his elbows on his knees and his golden hair falling over his shoulders.  His hands clasped and he looked up trying to achieve a knowledgeable look.  His eyes flitted to Yukari, Hitomi and Millerna, then came back to Yukari before focusing up on Dryden. "I have a feeling it has something to do with Atlantis."

            Dryden became intrigued.  "Really?  And what brought you to that conclusion?"

            "Several things."  He answered.  "Firstly, Hitomi was having visions concerning the Draconians and her pendant."

            "Visions?"  Dryden pressed. "What were they?"

            Hitomi sorted through the list of visions that she thought she might share.  There were a couple that she didn't think would be appropriate at this time.  The reoccurring image of the melefs and the little girl would open a whole new can of worms and saving it for a later time would be a good idea.  "I had one about Van's wings being crushed and another about the pendant being snapped from his neck."

            "Was –" Van had a misty expression.  "Was that the one with your double in it?"

            Hitomi nodded.

            Allen got them back to the subject.  "Secondly, the pendant is, in essence, used in each connection."

            "That's right."  Jiai nodded.  "She always puts her hand over her heart."

            "I can feel the pendant as if its there," Hitomi confirmed, "and sometimes I can feel it flare up if something happens or is going to happen."

            "And thirdly," Allen finished, his voice hinting that this was the most important of all.  "The men that attacked your ship were Draconians."  Dryden was stunned.  Allen stared intently.  "I know for a fact that two of the three who took the bridge were Draconians.  I saw their wings."

            "So did I."  Yosu said, sounding uneasy.

            "The leader was a Draconian."  Van announced a touch of anger in his voice.  "HE saved himself by flying up and meeting his Guymelef."  He growled to himself.  "A draconian working for Zaibach…" He remembered fighting the Maginot back in Kataphygio.  The man in the Stallion melef has told him that he was the same as they were… it was true after all.  His fist clenched.  Folken came to mind.  Unbeknownst to him, Hitomi was growing more and more concerned for him as the moments passed and with it the discussion which continued without them.

            Yosu leaned forward.  "What does this mean?"

            Dryden had his chin in one hand.  "Very interesting.  What this means is that I may be able to help you after all.  Atlantis is my field of specialty.   I'm actually writing a book –"

            "Yeah, I saw some."  Daiji interrupted.  "Deep stuff."

            "Thanks."  He smiled.  "Now t hen, with Atlantis in mind, tell me about this double of Hitomi's.  She seems to play some integral part."

            "Fakey Hitomi?"  Merle asked, straightening from her seat on the floor.  "I can tell you about her!  She wasn't Hitomi at all!  Well, she was sorta I guess, but I know it wasn't REALLY her.  She had longer hair and different kinda clothes, and a different way of talking –" She bit one finger as she reordered her thoughts.  "She was normal!  That's it!  Fakey Hitomi wasn't weird like Real Hitomi!"

            "Hey!"  Hitomi protested.  Merle flitted her tail and sniggered.

            "Fakey Hitomi is a Gaean."  Dryden stated.  "Real Hitomi is an Earther."           

            "But Neko isn't that different from me."  Merle said.

            "Yeah!  We're buds!"  Koneko grinned.

            "Some of the doubles are very close."  Hitomi said.  "Jiai and Millerna for example, and Van and Yosu and You and Daiji.  Your personalities are very close, almost indistinguishable, like you're the same person."

            "Hitomi's double had me convinced that she was Hitomi."  Van admitted.  "She had me completely under her spell, even to the point of letting her have the pendant back.  And living in my own house…"

            "She locked me up."  Merle said.

            "You never told us how you got in that dungeon Merle."  Millerna recalled. "What happened?"

            Merle looked important.  "Well, I knew Fakey Hitomi wasn't the real deal all along!  But Lord Van couldn't see it, so I tried to show him."     

            "Ooooh!  Lemme guess!"  Koneko interrupted.  She put on her sleuthing grin.  "Fakey Hitomi suspected you were going to foil her plot for world domination so she nabbed you and locked you up to keep you from telling."

            Merle nodded.  "That's right!  She told the Jailer that Lord Van told her to, but I knew he didn't really!  He loves me!"  She jumped up and threw herself across the room to land on the king. "Lord Van!"

            Van smiled. "I'm sorry, Merle."

            "Its alright now, Lord Van!"  She said, licking his cheek.

            Dryden put both hands on his hips and sighed.  Hitomi spoke up quietly, she'd been thinking on the topic of her double ever since Van brought it up.  Now she felt like she had something she needed to say.  "I met my double."  The others turned to her, noting the reserve in her voice.  Van was aghast.  "In Van's palace, she spoke to me.  She told me…She told me that everything was my fault.  She said that I was coldhearted because I still did this even though I knew how she felt.  Then she said…'What kind of person am I?'  Not about me…. about herself.  I didn't understand – I didn't think I was feeling anyone's feelings except my own.  But I'm not so sure anymore.  I was really panicked coming out of the castle, and I remember I was scared of…. I was thinking about death – I was scared someone was going to die.  I thought it was Van, so I went back for him.  Was I feeling her feeling or was I feeling something that was mine?  I don't know.  It makes me scared to think that I might be basing what I do or think on something that isn't really me."

            Yosu felt a lump catch in his throat.  He wanted to tell her that he knew what she meant.  He was experiencing the same difficulty with his connection, but glanced to Van and held his tongue.  They were still wary of each other.  Dryden began making sense of it.  "So she knew you two were doubles and that you have an emotional connection even though you'd never met or spoken with her before, and she would have no knowledge of the situation."

            "That means that whoever she's working for knew about the Atlantis doubles beforehand."  Jiai said.

            Dryden turned on her suddenly. "What did you say!?"

            Jiai jumped, her eyes glued wide.  Millerna sated next to her giggled slightly at the look on her face.  The dark haired girl recovered and repeated herself with a slight stutter.  "Wh-Whoever she's working for knew about the Atlantis doubles."

            "That's right, we didn't tell you about our theory on the global conspiracy!"  Yukari cried.  "We've decided that instead of being separate isolated incidents, Haman and Seguir are working for someone with Hitomi's double working there too.  That's why they didn't want us to get from Asturia to Fanelia."

            That apparently wasn't what had gotten Dryden's attention.  He hurried over to a wall of bookshelves behind Amano and Yukari's heads.  The twins and Celena were building a tower out of them in the corner. Dryden started skimming the spines.  "That's a very interesting theory but I think we should come back to that.  I thought I had something around here…"

            Daiji stood up.  "Can I help?"

            "Nah, I think I've got it –" he backed up and looked down the shelf, the kneeled next to Celena to look at their blocks.  Allen turned to watch, but Dryden got up and left them alone.  HE bit his lip and scanned the rest of the room.  "I could have sown –" the he brightened.  "Aha!"  He scooted behind Allen's chair to the mantle and took one thick volume out from under a lamp.  "I knew it was here!"  He spoke as he flipped his tinted lenses up and leafed through chunks of pages. "I have tons of book son legend but I think there are only two publications that have this story in them."  He fixed his glasses and read aloud. "Upon the awakening of Draconian failure in the Mystic Lunar civilization, the Dragon Gods created anew and double the birth of their treasured endeavor to the hidden skies of their abandoned home.  As the cycles became mirrored and Gaea became the new Mystic land where Atlantis transplanted and an exacted recurrence ensued from the stem of the ancient beginnings."

            "What the heck!?!"  Koneko cried. 

            "Yeah, could you translate that for us?"  Yukari asked.

            Dryden handed the book down to Daiji, whose hand was waiting for it. "The meaning is pretty simple.  It states the legend of Gaea's creation.  The Draconians, the Dragon Gods," he looked to the 16-year-old Fanelian, "Van's people, they were the ones that ruled the Mystic Moon…er…Earth.  Some scholars believe they created Earth – this one for instance believes that, but I others say they didn't.  I don't think they did, because they are mortal creatures and how could they survive without a planet to live on?  It doesn't make a lot of sense.  But that's beside the point.  The fact, or, the legend as we know to be fact, is that the Draconians attained control of the power of wishes and used that ability, that "magic" if you will, to give themselves wings, make great technological advancements, and, ultimately, distort destiny."  He looked specifically to Hitomi who suddenly wanted to disappear.  "Unfortunately, their meddling with the world on Earth changed things unfavorably for them.  War, death, destruction, despair…these were the things that the Draconians couldn't bear to live with and couldn't change.  So they abandoned Earth and created Gaea as a clean slate to try again at another Utopia."

            "But this isn't perfect."  Jiai said, then caught herself.  "No offense."

            Dryden laughed to himself.  "None taken.  Needless to say, the definition of Utopia as someplace and no place still applies.  The world of the Draconians ceased to exist long long ago and since then Gaea has continued down the same path as Earth, full of war and violence, but also very prosperous.  It goes either way.  Of course, we natives have heard this story before.  Many times.  And those present have lived it not too long ago when Dornkirk, or what was his name from Earth?"

            He looked to Hitomi again, then around at the others.  The brunette realized that she was the most appropriate one to answer and did so quickly, after a pause.  "N-Newton.  Isaac Newton."

            "That's right, Isaac."  Dryden said.

            "That was in my father's diary."  Allen recalled.

            "Dornkirk was trying to use the Power of Atlantis and a Fate Redirecting machine to change the future in his favor.  The last time we were all together, we were set to mount an attack against him and restore peace.   Mission accomplished, we are now here with a new problem and a new enemy."  Dryden cleared his throat.  "But that's in every book.  What's so special about this specific author and this specific volume is the inclusion of some choice words."  He took up the book again. "Doubles, mirrored, exacted, recurrence…"

            "Hey!  Doubles!"  Koneko cried.

            Dryden nodded and the volume went back on the mantle.  Hitomi watched the pairs of doubles exchange glances; Jiai and Millerna with amazement, Koneko and Merle with accomplishment, Van and Yosu with suspicion, Amano and Allen with regard and Dryden and Daiji with a certain smugness that one would acquire when sharing a secret.  She looked to Yukari who was busy putting pieces together.  Dryden stepped forward and spoke again.  "Exactly.  Now, I've read this many times, and before now this meant nothing but an interesting selection of diction, but if you'll bear with me, I think I'm string to see a picture of what we're looking at."  Everyone waited anxiously for his explanation.  He took off his glasses and flipped the lenses back down as he began.  "We know that Earth came first.  Everyone lived on Earth long ago, Draconians included, until war and everything.  It was then that the Draconians made another planet, Gaea, according to this, an exact copy of Earth."  He gestured to Daiji.  "Now, this is a very attractive man…"

            "Why thank you."  Daiji said in a smuggish tone.

            Dryden grinned.  "You're welcome.  He reminds me of someone I know very well.  There is no denying that our faces are the same.  Our eyes are the same.  You yourselves have admitted to me tat the two of us are alike in every way imaginable from how we look to how we act and what we say.  To quote you… we are nearly identical.  Well, lets suppose that we are identical – " Hitomi's eyes widened.  "I think that when the Draconians copied Earth, they copied its fate as well.  That's the clean slate – they wanted to change it, and they did, but at the same time, the same fate was going through its cycles in both locations, bringing forth war, death and destruction for both planets.  But suppose in the blueprints for Gaea, the blueprints for its people have been copied too, so that the same people are born on each of the planets sometimes to different parents and on different years under different names, but still, they are all born."  Everyone gasped.  Dryden began his closing argument.  "Daiji and I look the same because we are the same.  Carbon copies from two worlds that were never supposed to mingle. All the details are not explained but that is my theory, and what I can see about all of t his."  Everyone was in stunned silence at the sense he was making.  He moved to sit back down next to Daiji but Millerna called him.

            "Psst!"  She whispered and beckoned.  "Over here."  Dryden looked to Daiji and spiked his eyebrows.  His double winked with a 'go get 'em' smile and Dryden moseyed over to sit with his arm around the queen.  Allen began to speak but lost his train of thought at the look on the blonde's face.

            Yukari offered the first supporting evidence.  "That would explain why we all reminded Hitomi of a Gaean before the problems with her double started.  If we 'developed' connections suddenly, we would not have resembled anyone beforehand."

            "That also explains why Gaea and Earth ore so much alike."  Jiai said.

            "But wait."  Amano interrupted.  "That means every living person on Earth has an exact replica walking around on Gaea!" 

            "And visa versa."  Dryden said.

            "That's creepy."  Millerna muttered.

            "So then – " Van seemed hopeful, "that would mean that there is a Folken – and a Mother and a Father existing on the Mystic Moon at this moment?"

            Hitomi felt tears in her eyes at the hope he'd found as Dryden answered affirmatively.  "Theoretically."

            "The same for Eythymia and her parents, too?"  Merle asked.  He nodded.

            Allen was lost in his own head and Yukari stared at him, concerned.  Amano put one hand on her shoulder and she covered it with her own.  He drew a conclusion.  "Hitomi's double must have read that book and figured it out."

            "Or maybe her boss told her."  Jiai suggested.

            "What I don't understand then is why we all feel your emotions but you don't feel ours."  Yosu spoke.

            "That is a good question."  Dryden admitted.

            Millerna had an idea.  "Maybe its because Hitomi patched them through!"  Hitomi froze.  "You know, because she connected them using the 'pendant', they were tied closer to us."  

            "That's a very good idea!"  Dryden cried.  "Atlantis is the root of everything!  It's the stuff that split us all apart in the first place, maybe it's helping us get closer to being the same person!"

            "And if Hitomi's double has the pendant, that explains how she can still 'use' it!"  Yukari added.  "The Power of Atlantis used that connection."

            "I hadn't had true visions until the one where she took the pendant."  Hitomi recalled.  "Since she's had it, I have visions nearly daily."

            Van leaned in again. "Daily!?!"

            "This is incredible!"  Dryden cried.  "It's all coming together!  It's astounding!" Millerna beamed at his smile and scooted closer, loving his excitability and enthusiasm.

            Amano spoke again, tightening his grip on his girlfriend's shoulder.  "But that also means that Yu could be connected to anyone, not just someone important to our adventure."

            Hitomi's shoulders sank.  "Oh, that's right."

            "You don't know who she is?"  Dryden asked.

            "No." Jiai answered.  "And we need to find out because the connection makes her have arrests where she blacks out and stops breathing."

            Dryden's eyebrows went up.  "Really?"

            "Yeah," Daiji said.  "And they're totally spontaneous, too.  And sometimes painfully inconvenient."

            Dryden raised one eyebrow but Hitomi began presenting evidence instead of clarification. "Her first attack was on Earth, when I connected Amano.  She could see Allen through him and then nearly blacked out."  Yukari blushed a little and stared at the floor as they talked about her.  "The second attack was in the dining room of the palace at Palas. That was when I realized that it was related to connections.  The third one was in Van's palace while she, Jiai, and Daiji were in the throne room pretending to be delegates."

            "Ahh." Dryden understood. "Inconvenient."

            Hitomi kept speaking.  "When I touched her, I could see an image much like when I connected the others.  In the visions, she was older with wavy hair that was a lighter color.  And she passed out every time on a balcony.  That was when the visions went black."

            "I always feel like I'm falling out of myself." Yukari said. "I can only come back when I hear Amano call my name."

            "I'm afraid that her double is very sick." Hitomi concluded.  "And that we should find her soon."

            Dryden leaned forward to put his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands.  Millerna threaded her arm through his as he became an analyst again.  "It sounds like we have enough clues.  If we can put it all together, we can figure it out."

            "The connection has to be really strong because it happens without my help."  Hitomi said.

            "Alright, then what triggers it?"  Dryden asked.

            "The first was seeing Allen in Amano in the living room.  The second, when we were going introduced to Allen and Celena.  The third was when I was staring at Hitomi's double."  Yukari said.  She clung to Amano, afraid that remembered might send her under again.

            "Hold on."  Koneko spoke up.  "I see a pattern!"

            Yosu looked to her.  "What is that?"

            "Two of the three have to do with Allen!"  Koneko observed.

            "And Fakey Allen is the only one that brings her back."  Merle added.

            Dryden nodded.  "That's a good point.  Did Allen have anything to do with the third one?"

            "Well," She reflected and followed her train of thought to the point where she passed out.  "Yes, actually.  I remembered the time in the living room before I went under."

            Allen stared intently as Dryden continued to offer support.  "So Allen has to do with every time you have an attack."

            "That means that whoever she is, she's close to Allen."  Daiji concluded.

            "And you always 'lapse into death'."  Dryden repeated.

            Yukari nodded.

            "Did you say the woman in your vision was blonde, Hitomi?"  Dryden pressed.

            "No, but – " Hitomi filed through her rolodex of past visions.  "I think she was."

            Dryden closed his yes.  "I think I know."

            Allen gasped hollowly, his blue eyes wide and quaking.  Millerna stared at him and received her own inspiration.  It chilled her to the bone, her eyes watching and her hands trembling, she tore her eyes from the knight to Yukari and was convinced.  One look and it was now so obvious – why hadn't she seen it before?  She stood.  "I know who you are!"  Everyone turned except Allen, who was rigid.  Millerna looked at him, her heart breaking in her throat.  "And Allen, so do you."  His eyes began to tremble even more violently.  "And I'm so sorry."  The onlookers glanced between them, Amano and Yukari especially.  The man could feel a cold sense of dread well up within him.  Millerna hung her head and turned to lock eyes with Yukari, whose brown eyes had begun to look green-blue like Jiai's.  "Yukari – you are my sister." She gulped.  "Marlene."

            Hitomi gasped.  "But!  But Marlene is – "

            "Dead."  Allen stated, a sob suppressed in the back of his throat.  "Marlene is dead."

            Reality was sinking in now.  Yukari felt the wind knocked out of her and she fell back against Amano, on the verge of an attack then and there.  Jiai reached up and took Millerna's hand.  Dryden took the other one. Millerna used his to wipe her eyes and sit down.  "I'm sorry!  I'm so sorry Allen!  This must have been so hard.  I can't believe I didn't see it.  I feel – I'm mourning her all over again."  She turned to bury her head in Dryden's shoulder and he put his arm back around her.  Allen stood up and left the room.

            Hitomi felt tears in her own eyes as she watched him go.  "Allen!"

            "Big Brother?"  Celena asked.  She looked around at everyone.  "What's wrong?"

            "It's nothing."  Amano assured. "Nothing that can be helped."  Everyone sat uneasily as Millerna cried; feeling like it was inappropriate to say anything.  The queen finally took her hand from Jiai and removed herself from Dryden's grip, standing to leave.

            "I'm holding us up."  She sniffled.  "You all continue – I'll – I'll go outside and calm down."   Dryden moved to get up and follow but she stopped him.  "You need to stay.  You're important to the conversation."  She tried to smile at him.  "I'll - I'll be alright.  It'll only take a minute."  With that, she excused herself.

            Everyone sat in silence, exchanging glances.  Jiai sniffled.  Yukari sighed exhaustedly and looked up at Amano, who was sad with Allen's sadness.  She broke the uneasy quiet.  "I'm dead."

            The rest jumped as the connotations sank in.  Hitomi whirled on her.  "No you're not, Yukari!"

            "Does this mean – since Gaea and Earth have the same fate – that I'm going to die young?"

            Amano panicked, she could feel his hand shaking on her shoulder.  "Yu, no!  I won't let you!  You cant!"

            "Marlene died of illness."  Dryden said solemnly.  "I don't know how to answer you."

            "Time is skewed." Jiai cried.  "Maybe fate isn't exact!  We didn't just have a big war for global domination on Earth!"

            "Yeah," Yosu said without the hope a positive answer would carry, "we had two."

            Jiai's heart sank.

            "But no," Hitomi said, "we have a chance.  World War One and World War Two happened a long time ago, but World War One and World War Two are happening here now!  This is the second one, and it didn't happen twenty years apart like it did on Earth.  Maybe, hopefully, Yukari's time will come when she's old!  And then it wouldn't matter!"

            Yukari sighed again.

            "So what do we do now?"  Yosu asked.

            "We need to find who is pulling the strings."  Dryden said.  "Who is the head of your global conspiracy?"

            "Then where do we go?"  Hitomi asked.  "Back to Fanelia?  Asturia?"

            "The men we just clashed with were definitely Zaibachian."  Van said.  He frowned.  "The same country…"

            "What did they want anyway?" Yosu asked.  "They were unprovoked, why did they attack?"

            Dryden took a minute, the whole thing still heavy on his mind  "They wanted to know about the Power of Atlantis."  His eyes were glazed.  "What it was and how it worked.  They were more than just curious.  They were aggressive and determined to get what they wanted as if it was for some ultimate goal.  But I could sense the motivations behind their questions.  I didn't tell them anything, and I told myself I'd die before I would.  It would be corroborating with the enemy and betraying all of you."  Then a little more quietly.  "It would be running away again."

            Amano didn't know what he meant, but could feel the significance.  Be bolstered up his pride.  "Well, we won't be scared off that easy!  They've got twice as many of us to deal with this time around and we'll murder 'em!  Where do we go next?  Zaibach?  Well lets get moving!"

            Dryden took heart.  Van sprang up.  "We'll do it again!  Zaibach won't conquer the world again, not now and not ever!  Someone run and tell Gadess we're headed for Zaibach!"

            "I'll do it!"  Hakai volunteered, anxious to run around with an objective.  Amano nodded and the boy took off.

            Hitomi stood as well, slowly, with one fist over her heart.  "We need to find the leader.  The leader will bring all the answers out and I have a feeling, will bring down everything like a house of cards if he should fall.  Eries, Millerna's sister, lives in Zaibach.  Maybe she can help us find clues."

            "A peaceful trip!?!" Jiai cried, amazedly.  "That sounds good for a change!"

            "That means we have some idle time." Dryden said, standing.  "You all should move into the extra rooms.  There are eleven of you here; I think there are rooms for you all.  I don't visit the guest part much.  If needs be you can double up."

            "Hah!"  Koneko cried.  "Double up!  Good one!"

            Yosu groaned.

            Dryden moved to the door.  "I'm going to find Millerna – and Allen – to tell them what we've decided.  Wander around if you'd like.  The place is yours while you're here."

            Koneko's face turned catlike.  "I like it when they say that."

            "Thanks Dryden!"  Yukari grinned, feeling better now that the meeting was over.  The redhead turned to Daiji.  "I like him."

            "Me too."  He answered.  "Well, I'm going exploring!  Got to see how 'I' live after all!"  

            "Yeah, right."  Amano said, flatly.

*                           Escaflowne                           *

            Millerna's sobbing had calmed down.  The weight that came with Marlene was one she pulled from several angles.  Not only was she young and beautiful, Marlene had been her oldest sister; the one she'd always looked up to and wanted to be like.  Marriage and then death had taken her role model away from her forever.  Then there was Allen.  When she found out about he and Marlene, and then Chid, their illegitimate son, it had been too much.  Too hurtful.  She wandered the halls of Dryden's ship trying to subdue her memories and doubts.  She happened upon Allen seated in a side room.

            At fist the Queen did not want to disturb him.  Out of courtesy and selfish cause, she nursed no desire to confront him, but there was no denying that she had been in love with this man.  Seeing the face he wore now reminded her of the night she'd caught him in the portrait room and he told her that their love was a lie.  And it was.  She could see now how much he was still in love with Marlene.  She realized again how close Yukari had been to him all this time and how hard he must have fought to show no emotion.  She knocked on the open door.  "Allen?"

            His head moved, the blond hair in his face moving out of his eyes.  He took a deep breath and paid her no attention.

            Millerna came into the room.  "You knew all along didn't you?"

            He paused a long time.  "Yes I did."      He breathed shakily.  "I couldn't miss that resemblance."

            "I know how you must feel.  Losing someone you love is very hard.  I know.  But if we stick together…" his head moved a little and she faltered, "…maybe… we can get through it."

            He looked up, one blue eye visible through the long hair.  "What are you saying?"

            She came over next to him, kneeling on the ground so that they were nearly eye-to-eye.  "I mean that we don't have to be in love to need each other.  I still care about you, Allen, and I miss Marlene too.  If we can help each other, we'll both feel better, don't you think?"

            He straightened, something of a shock on him, and combed his hair back behind one ear.  "Millerna?"

            She looked up, her eyes red from her own crying.  "Can we be friends?"

            He pulled his lips tight, then let his chin dip and nodded slowly.  She took a little comfort in it, straightened up on her knees and gave him a hug around the neck.  A hug that took him a couple seconds to return, and when he did, it was weak and tense.  She leaned her head into his, hoping to relax him a bit.  He closed his eyes and let his rest lightly on hers.

            Dryden was watching from the doorway.

            Millerna noticed him peeking around the frame and froze.  She let go of Allen and got to her feet.  "Dryden – "

            Allen pulled his posture up and watched the merchant as he came into the room, his hands clasped behind his back.  Dryden looked at him and to Millerna's relief, wasn't angry or jealous.  He actually seemed a little sad himself, reminding her of their conversation in the library.  Dryden unclasped hi hands and spoke in sullen tones.  "I'm sorry to disturb you like this, but I wanted to let the two of you know that the meeting is over."

            "And…"  Allen pried, dryly.

            "We're headed to Zaibach."  Dryden answered.

            Millerna took at start.  "Zaibach!?!"

            "We thought we'd pick up some clues.  And your sister may be able to help."  He told her.  "And considering.  It is the center of the last ordeal. Even if they are not related, the goals of both campaigns are the same.  Maybe there is some sort of link."  Allen turned to stare at the floor; Dryden tried to cheer up a bit.  "So for now, we've got some time to kill.  Spend it as you will, the place is yours.  I'm headed to the bridge to see how Gadess and crew are doing."  He nodded his head to them.  "Excuse me."

            Millerna stepped forward and took his arm as he was leaving.  He grinned a little to her, her presence reassuring.  She turned back to the seated knight.  "Remember what I said, alright?  You don't have to live this alone."  Allen watched t heir backs as the two of them left.  She was officially beyond his reach; she would not come back to him now and pick up where they left off.  But he brought that on himself he supposed, and he couldn't walk with a crutch forever.

            "Why can't I be happy?"

*                           Escaflowne                           *

            Just inside the line of the Ventrag Mountains, five Guymelefs stood undisturbed on a plateau.  Their pilots were prowling around, each responding to the defeat in a different way. Vector was nearby, unmoved, his rock-solidness was one that was unaffected by anything other than orders and impulses.  He waited, watching his captain mostly, and alert to his mood.  Prestress sat sharpening his sword.  It was unbloody, keeping his balance level.  He was content with how things had turned.  Resultant however, was restless.  "I can't believe we retreated!  I could have won!  I could have taken that prissy girlyman out so fast – I can't believe you made us run away!"

            Virial sat silent on the leg of his stallion, the pegasus kneeling as a horse would with its wings folded.  The leader gave his 19-year-old subordinate no notice and sat deep in thought.  He was rerunning the events in his head.  Torsion tried to hide her concern, but kept glancing back over her shoulder as she worked on the repairs of her own craft.  She kept thinking about their conversation the night before in the woods, and how she'd reacted when she saw him falling.  Why had she been so afraid he would die even when she knew he had wings that would save him?  It wasn't because she was concerned about him revealing the fact that he was a draconian, and she knew for sure that it wasn't because she was worried about getting paid, even thought before today that would have been her excuse.  No, it was something different, something deeper, something she felt ashamed of.  She twisted around inside of herself and tried to focus on her work.  

            Resultant turned on his commander.  "What happened!?!  You pulled us out when you knew we could win!  You were scared off by WHAT!?!  A bunch of humans!?"

            Virial was brooding, but turned his lavender eyes to look on his inferior.  The 27-year-old's pride was battered and the walls of his protective shell were weak.  It had been the last thing in his mind to throw out his wings, each feather wearing a secret of his and every beat a sledgehammer to his comfortable automation.  Sitting with a stricken and recovering heart he did not have the patience to deal with Resultant just then.   "The time will come for the Eyes.  We have many commissions.  The Merchant and information gathering was but one.  We will try again at a more preferable time."  His mechanics were a little shaky in their performance.

            "What's that supposed to mean!?"  Resultant cried.  "Are you weak!?  What do you mean 'try again'!?  We could have taken them then!  We could take them now!"

            "You weren't able to see the halls of that ship, boy!"  Virial said, reminding the young man of his inexperience.  "We lost presumably half our troop in that place.  We were not prepared for a fight.  Factually, no fight should have occurred.  As long as Atlantis is still at large we cannot lean things favorably."

            "I was doing it!"  Resultant cried.   "There was only one real frighten among them!  The three of us could have taken out the whole lot!  Its because you went first that we ran away at all!"

            "Shut up, Resultant!"  Torsion cried.

            His blue eyes shot sharply to her as she turned with her teeth grated.  "Shut your whining!  Virial knows what he's doing!"

            "What do you care!?"  Resultant shouted back.  "You get paid either way!  My revenge was robbed!  I deserve some answers!"

            "You don't deserve anything but to get slapped around!"  Torsion shouted back.  "Your power trip is all you care about!  You don't know anything about strategy, planning or priority!  Commander's right, getting Atlantis is the first thing!  We'll go after the Eyes and the information after we accomplish that!  That's the way it has to be so shut up and leave him alone!"

            "If you weren't a woman, I'd kill you for that!"  He growled.  "You don't have an angle unless you just recently picked one up!  I joined this group to see my enemies paid and the Draconians restored.  If being a member of this troop will stop me from doing that then I quit!"

            "You'll get your chance!"  Virial snapped, suppressed anger raising his decibel and silencing them all.  Even Vector and Prestress looked up as Virial stood, the brown hair on his head and face making him look much older and seasoned than he actually was.  The commander stepped forward and Resultant backed a step up, suddenly sensing the disregard he'd been paying to Virial's authority.  The leader stopped and glared at him, his face hard.  "The order will be restored and all who stand in the way will be crushed.  It will happen, Captain, in fate's time.   You will have to bide yours and lick your wounds until then.  This is the only way anything you desire will even be put into affect."

            Resultant bowed quickly.  "Yes sir.  I understand."  He looked to Torsion who was still fuming.  "Its just that she's really sexy when she's mad."

            Virial narrowed his eyes menacingly, but called over to the others. "Vector!"

            The juggernaut was at immediate attention, not that he ever left it. "Yes sir."

            "Take Prestress and Resultant and find the others.  They should be near if they escaped the ship.  Bring them back to report to me here.  We'll take off tomorrow morning." 

            "Yes sir." Vector nodded.  Prestress sheathed his sword and climbed up the leg of his Guymelef.

            Resultant paused, bordering on a look of suspicion. "Why isn't Torsion coming?"

            "She needs to repair her melef."  Virial said, pointedly, then turned his back and stepped slowly toward his stallion melef ending any discussion.  Resultant snarled to himself and followed the other two.

            Torsion waited until the three Maginot had taken off before making any movement.  She set her tools down in the rift of the left shoulder and looked to her commander.  He was standing still and silent, staring at the ground near Trapan's suit.  She could see in the way that he held his shoulders that he had his back muscles clenched.  She figured out his thoughts.  He regretted revealing his wings to the enemy.  She was compelled to speak to him, and clambered down to the ground; feeling a bizarre anxiety arise.  The commander's head turned slightly as she approached.  "Commander?"

            He said nothing, one hand clenching and unclenching, trying to arrive at some sort of equilibrium where his own pain and concern were smothered or forgotten in exchange for his well-oiled mechanics.  "Yes."

            "Commander, I –" She faltered.  She would feel a lot more comfortable if she let out her wings, but she sense that this was not the time.  She swallowed hard. "I truly believe in your judgment."  She said finally.  "I don't put my faith in a lot, but I wanted you to know that I believe in you."  He turned slowly, she could see his lavender eye focus on her from a profile and was suddenly vulnerable.

            Virial's voice was flat.  "Why?"

            "Why?"  She was confused and a little angry.  After all she was trying to be helpful, and it was seldom that she cared enough to pay attention to anyone.

            "Why did you want me to know that?"

            "Well…" she stopped, this question unexpected, "because…" trying to figure out an answer was difficult on short notice since she first had to analyze it for herself, "because…" she recalled his words to her and found the power in them not only similarly applicable, but loaded with the connotations that she wanted to convey, "because you're not alone."

            He turned fully around to her and she breathed heavily.  He blinked slowly, the commander gear jarring loose and stalling all of his well-regulated systems.  "Torsion?  Are you saying that out of reverence as a captain?"  She pulled her lips tighter and shook her head, not sure of which Virial she was talking to, the one she had been taking orders from or the one that she met in the woods the night before.  She hoped it was the latter; she had a … particular feeling… for the latter.  He took another step toward her.  "Then what?"  She felt her eyes sting, becoming uncharacteristically emotional.  She tried to shake it off but her read her and his uniformity finally fell through entirely.  Without realization or even conscious effort his powder-white wings emerged, throwing off his shoulder armor, which clanked when it hit the ground.  She jumped and looked up at him with watering eyes. He didn't know what had happened and looked back at his feathers with the same look of panic as one would wear if caught writing a love letter.  She shoved her armor off as well and released her coiled tension in a flurry of plumage.  He looked at her wings, withholding breath.

            "I –" she felt so much more at ease like this and reveled in the lack of boundaries for a moment before turning a romantic eye on him.  "I like your wings.  They suit you.  You look majestic with them out like that."

            He searched his heart, words still difficult.  They were always difficult.  She could see it and it almost made him cute to her, much better than some brash young egotist with cocky lines and half-witted response for everything.  The commander swept his wings out of sight and closed his eyes for a second.  "They have no power in them.  I have no pride in them except the hope that when the order is restored they will be… accepted.  Commonplace.  No.  That they will be… un-special."  He grumbled to himself.  "That's not even a word."  He looked to her and was shocked into speechlessness again at the understanding look on her face.  

            She shook the blonde hair out of her face.  "I like them now."

            His eyes looked as young as they really were in that moment, and she could have sworn that he was blushing under his dusty brown beard.  "You… are to beautiful… to be loved by anyone else…"

            It was her turn to be shocked.  He had used 'love' in his well-chosen statement. "Virial."

            "Glaucus is my real name."  He stated.  She leveled her eyebrows on him.  "It is my given name, the one that my draconian mother gave me.  I prefer it, but my father refused to address me by anything other than my Zaibachian surname.  Draconians only bear one name.  Most don't know I have a first one."

            She understood; she'd been going by her first name since she learned the Draconian way and was honored to be able to address him in the manner that his family would in a new and perfect world.  "Glaucus… I like it.  With those eyes, you look more like a Glaucus than a Virial to me."

            He blushed even harder, she giggled to herself to see him so deeply in his own feelings and not behind some protective shell.  He came over next to her.  "You know, I, I didn't choose to make you captain because of this…"  He panicked a second.  "I mean, I knew it, but that's not why I… what I mean to say is…"

            She put her hand in his.  "I understand, don't worry about it."  His eyebrows rose to her and she full out laughed at his astonishment.  "I love you like this!  You're such a cute guy when you're not worried about what people think of you!  When you're 'Commander Virial' you seem a million years old with a schedule and an iron fist!"

            "I do worry about what you think of me."  He answered.  "If I didn't worry about it then I wouldn't be sitting here with white wings and stuttering… and using bad grammar."  She laughed again and he actually smiled, even as he tried not to.  "Tori, do you even know what to think of me?"

            "I know this."  Torsion said, raising their arms and showing him their clasped hands.  "I know that I think I'm in love with Glaucus.  Even enough that I can see him through Virial.  And that when we stand side by side in a world where Draconians once again are free, I'm not going to hesitate to tell everybody about it, and the two of us are going to walk around the Mystic city day in and day out with big white wings and no twisting or layering or whatever!"

            He relaxed, perhaps for the first time in his entire life.  "That is a magical dream."

            "Do you want it too?"

            He nodded.  "If we can make it a reality.  It would be the desire of my heart."  He looked to her and she was staring starry-eyed into him. 

            "I love you."

            Her lips were craving a kiss.  He desired to answer their call.  The two of them leaned in slowly, each wanting to make the move, but frozen in the prospect of the other's returned emotion.  Both had released their wings, both had thrown down their barriers, all that was left was this to complete the love-struck transformation they were meant to make.  

            Inches away they heard a voice.  "Commander Virial!"

            They jumped, pulled apart, sucked in their wings and dashed back to previous occupations.  Glaucus gave his head one good shake to re-align his clockwork and re-gathered his layered facade into the cold, emotion-less machine.  Torsion was less adept at this and climbed back into the lap of her ship to get busy on repairs and hide her face.  It didn't help when the owner of the voice appeared around the corner of the suit.  Areolar was appalled when he arrived and stared at his Commander "What's going on here!?!"

            "Do not demand, Captain."  Virial regarded.  "You saw nothing other than business."

            "I saw wings!"  He cried.  "I two pairs of wings out in the open!  We can't show off our wings for no reason!  Someone could see!  I thought you knew about that!  Who else was it!?"  His eye shot up to the other captain.  "TORSION!?!"

            She smacked her head against the metal of her suit in punishment.  The situation had just quadrupled in severity.  The last person she wanted to catch her making advances on her boss was her older brother.  "Yes?"

            "What were – " Areolar looked back and forth between them "you were – what is – Torsion!  I demand an explanation for this!"

            She stormed to the edge of the Maginot knee and shouted down to him.  "I don't have to EXPLAIN anything to you!  But since you're asking, we were talking about the last battle we just had!  It didn't turn out very well!  The Commander himself nearly died in it!"

            Areolar was only angrier to have her yelling at him.  "And what does that have to do with wings!?"

            "I always let my wings out when I'm relaxed!"

            "Then what about him!?!"  An accusing finger was thrown at Virial.  Torsion didn't give the commander even the slightest glance. 

            "He was telling me to stop!  He knows how dangerous it is to have your wings out in a place like this!  He was showing me how obvious a full wingspan can be!  For heaven's sake Areolar, I'm not a baby I can take care of myself!"

            "Sir!?"  Areolar turned to Virial who was replacing his shoulder armor with indifference.  He waited for his story, severely critical and ready to snap.

            Virial's voice was cool and undeterred.  "I don't believe it is your place, Captain, to demand anything from me.  Insubordination is a serious offense, I suggest you calm down and rephrase your statement before you find yourself in over your head."

            Areolar stretched his neck and straightened up.  "Sir.  Trapan sends word the he is leaving Fanelia and we are to meet him en route to Zaibach."

            Virial gave him an icy glance.  "That is your official report?"

            "Official sir."  Areolar assured with a hidden snarl.

            Virial swept back to the Tamarack.  "Then once the other captains return, we will depart.  It should be in a couple hours.   Where is the Congruency?"

            "Over the hill."  Areolar answered.  "I stopped when I saw the melefs."  

            "We'll load the Maginot onto it and Torsion will finish repairing it then."  The Commander stated.  He turned his remark into an order.  "Go fetch it captain."

            This time Areolar's snarl was visible and malcontent as the Errander stomped off through the high grass, his blond hair like tongues of yellow flame rising from his building hatred and outrage.

To be continued….


	14. Episode 14:Lifelessness

Escaflowne:   Mirrors 

Episode 14:  Lifelessness

            "How long until we get there?"  Hakai whined.  "There's nothing to do on this stupid ship!  Why can't we have some fun!?"

            "Go and find your own fun."  Amano spat at him with aggravation.  "And stop annoying us."

            Hakai seemed pleased with his irritation, but felt that his guardian's grant to wreak havoc was too good to pass up.  "Fine!  I will!"  He stood up, stomping his feet.  "C'mon Su!"

            Suru responded obediently.  "Come on, Celena."  She beckoned the 16-year-old girl to her feet.  The two of them left their place against the wall to follow her twin brother.  

            Yukari watched them go with concern.  "Are you sure you want to let them do that?  They'll tear poor Dryden's ship apart!"

            "It was his fault for giving us the run of it."  Amano snuffed. "Besides if Hakai was still here whining, I would kill him."

            "What's got you so fussy?"  Yukari asked.  "I was just starting to feel better."

            "It's the whole thing about Allen and me being the same person."  Amano answered. "I don't like it."

            "You can't really help it."  Yukari pointed out.  "Sorry, but that's the truth."

            "I don't like it."  Amano repeated.  "I don't like him.  I don't want to be like he is, it makes me sick to know that we are even from the same mold."

            "You realize that you're acting like him right now?"  Yukari said.  "You're being pretty stubborn and I don't like it."  She shoved him. "Cheer up.  You've got me!  Allen doesn't have me and that's why he's him and you're you."

            "That doesn't make a lot of sense."  Amano frowned.

            She grinned smugly.  "Does it have to?  Just chin up and be content with who you are on the inside."  He regarded her and shook his head.

            Hakai rushed through the halls of the merchant vessel, burning off energy.  They'd been moving for a day now, midday to midday including one night, and the claustrophobia was making him stir crazy.  It was all Suru and Celena could do keep up with him.  "Hakai!"  Suru called like a girl lost, Celena being towed by her right hand.  "Hakai!  Slow down!"

            "Hurry up!"  He shouted back. "I ain't got all day to wait for you!"

            "Please, Hakai!"  Celena called.

            "Eat my dust!"

            Jiai stepped out into the hall was nearly plowed down.  She fell back against the wall as Hakai rushed past.  "Oh my gosh!"  Suru and Celena stopped next to her to pant and he vanished, undeterred down the hallway. "What in the world?"

            "We're…"  Suru huffed, "We're sorry about that… Hakai didn't mean to push you…"

            "Its okay." Jiai sighed.  "He didn't push me."  She had a question she needed answering. "Have you girls seen Hitomi?"

            "No."  Suru answered. "We haven't seen her anywhere."

            "Was she at breakfast?"  Celena asked.  "Maybe she hasn't gotten up yet."

            "Allen's still asleep too."  Jiai recollected.  "We did stay up late last night… or maybe he's shut himself in.  I hope he's sleeping, he really needs it."

            "Where is Hakai going?"  Suru asked her.         

            Jiai was perplexed. "I don't know."  She strained her neck to stare down the hall. "Who can ever tell?"

            "We will just have to follow him."  Celena resolved.  The two of them headed after the escapee.  Jiai shoved herself up and took off in the other direction, headed for the guest chambers.  She wanted to find Hitomi and ask her about their destination and who they'd be meeting there.  Jiai, herself, had never had any brothers or sisters, but she remembered Millerna had two, and that one of them lived in Zaibach.  She was anxious to see who her "sister" was.  In her quest she stumbled upon Yosu, who seemed distracted.

            He looked up when he heard her coming.  "Jiai, are you looking for Hitomi?"

            "Yes."  She answered.  "Are you?"

            He paused, seeming to debate with himself before answering.  "Yes, I am."

            "She has to be around here somewhere."  Jiai determined.  "I thought that she might still be in bed."

            "I want to speak with her about something." He said, his mind floating back to the meeting the day before and her concern about whose feelings she was feeling.  He understood what she meant; it was the same for himself and Van.  This led him to consider whether what he was thinking now was his own thought.  Becoming greatly troubled, he drew back into his own mind.

            Jiai cocked her head. "Yes?"

            "Uh," he looked up quickly, "you – you go on.  Come and tell me when you find her."

            "Alright," she agreed.  She watched his eyes dull in thought and then left to continue her journey.  Before she got there she was distracted by a set of identical voices, deep and humorous, coming from a side room.  She peeked in and found Daiji and Dryden in yet another library, chatting against a wall of books.  Daiji was laughing as he flipped through a volume. 

            "A mermaid do you say?"  He asked.

            "Oh yeah."  Dryden replied.  "We really hit it off.  Found her at an auction.  They were selling her for exhibition but I had a mind not to see her on display.  She was much too magnificent a creature to keep caged, so I bought her.  Something like 5,000 bucks… 50,000," he shrugged, "beats the heck out 'a me, something with a five in front.  Ratboy thought I was crazy, even more when I told him I was going to set her free.  But he thought most of my spending was crazy.  What do I care?  One of my most poignant philosophies has always been 'if you have it, why not spend it if it's going to a good cause'?  Taking her home was a good one I think.  Her name was Sylvie."

            "Man," Daiji shook his head, his brown bangs hitting against his tanned face, "I admire you."

            "What?  For shelling out thousands?"  Dryden asked.

            Daiji grinned and scratched the back of his head.  "No, for not caring about what people think of you.  I like giving money to charity and helping other people, but I'm a coward to do it openly because I don't want to know what the press or my dad might say.  I'm afraid they'd give me a label or something…"

            "There's no shame in being nice."  Dryden encouraged. "There' shame in being arrogant, and flashing good deeds and such, but doing it out of the kindness of your heart – I think that's a nice label."

            Daiji felt empowered and smiled broadly before speaking again.  "So, Sylvie huh?"

            "Yep."  Dryden answered.  "Couldn't understand a word she said, but I don't think she wanted to leave when we got to her native waters.  That's about when I met up with the rest of these guys, actually.  It seems like forever ago."

            Daiji noticed Jiai in the doorway and beckoned her in.  "Hey, 'Ai.  What's up?"  She ducked inside on his request, a little nervously.  She nodded to Dryden, sensing somehow that he deserved respect, and grinned a little to Daiji as greeting.  Daiji gestured between the two others.  "I don't know if you've gotten to know Jiai that well, Dryden, but this is our Millerna.  Can you see it?"

            The merchant and the girl locked eyes and she felt her pulse quicken.  Even stronger than Daiji's, the green pools of Dryden's eyes made her feel warm and gummy.  She sensed the bond between he and Millerna.  He smiled and nodded.  "Yes, I see it.  You've pretty eyes, Jiai.  Blue green.  Interesting how it differs."

            "Thanks."  She peeped and edged out.  "I'm on my way to find Hitomi.  Excuse me please."  

            "'K"  Daiji said as they parted.

            Dryden waved a little.  "Bye."

            Van and Millerna had appeared in the hallway when Jiai reentered.  Van was in the middle of saying something.  "Both Asturia and Fanelia have been taken by the enemy.  Perhaps Chesario too.  This ship as attacked in Egzardia, so there's a possibility it has fallen as well."

            "We have no proof Chesario or Egzardia are being controlled."  Millerna replied.  "There is no reason for us to think of the worst."

            "But what if Zaibach is the root again?"  Van asked.  "That means we're headed straight back into a trap."

            "What makes you sound so sure?"  Millerna inquired.  "You didn't seem to have a problem last night before we all went to bed."

            "I've been thinking."  Van answered.  "I've noticed this a lot.  It's happening again."  His temper flared up as he considered the events of the past and the events of the future.  "It's happening all over again!  Everything!  It began with the same events and it lead to similar ones!  First Fanelia then our refuge up in flames, now we met with you and now Dryden again, the only logical thing to assume is that the same people are to blame."

            "I haven't noticed so many congruencies."  Millerna responded.  "I think you are over analyzing things.  Anyway, Eries would never attack her home country, that's not logic!"

            "Excuse me – "  Jiai interrupted, "but I think Van has a good point."

            "What makes you think so?"  Millerna asked.

            "Because of something Yosu said."  Jiai answered.  "If this really is World War I and World War II for Gaea, and fate really is just copied, then Zaibach would be in charge now like they were in charge before."

            "The same country caused both these wars on the moon?"  Van asked.

            Jiai nodded.  "A country called Germany was trying to take over the world.  They lost it the first time, and then about twenty years later they tried again because of the defeat.  A lot of our countries allied together to stop them but the war lasted many years."

            "And?"  Van pried.  "Did the allies win?"

            "Yes."  Jiai answered.  

            "Does this country still pose a problem for you?"  Millerna asked.

            "No," was the answer, "not anymore.  They're peaceful now."

            "Let's hope our road ends the same."  Van stated.  "At the very least there is hope, whether we live thought this next adventure or not."

            Koneko and Merle rushed up, the cat seizing Van's arm when she arrived. "Lord Van Lord Van!"

            "What is it, Merle?"

            "Gadess said we'll be there soon!"  Koneko cried.  "He wanted us to tell you, Dryden and Allen!  Do you know where the other guys are?"

            "Dryden's in that room back there."  Jiai directed.  "And I think Allen's still asleep."

            "K thanks!"  Koneko cried.  "C'mon Merle!"

            The 13-year-old released her prisoner and darted off. "Neko wait for me!"

            Van smiled.  "I'm glad to see somebody cheery."

            "There doesn't seem to be a lot of positive energy," Millerna sighed, "even in the most positive of people."

            Jiai sensed a pang of nausea from her double and shifted weight.  "I have to go find Hitomi."  She excused herself and finally made it to the staircase leading to the guest wing.

            An endless red sky and a stretch of dry dead plane sandwiched Hitomi as she flew with a pair of great white wings.  She'd been through this vision before, and knew its ending.  She flew without wonder or thrill, the peaceful feeling of blue skies and birds already burned away, and scanned the ground for a sign of the running girl or her mother.  As she watched, the hills and the black city of Palas burst up in flames and withered as the sky began to crumble like paper.  The fire formed a ring and stretched its tongues out to reach for her as she glided.  She closed her eyes, waiting for fall, but found herself suddenly on the ground.  She was running, pulled by the hand of a woman with frayed brown hair.  The stomping she felt in her heart told Hitomi that she was the girl, and that they were running for their lives.  She glanced over her shoulder and gasped.  The melefs were right on top of them.  In all of her visions, they had never looked so big before, or so black.  She could see a pair of green, glowing eyes in the shadow above.  The right hand reached for them, and she screamed and dodged but was taken up by it and held tight.  She caught a glimpse at the ground of a young woman's petrified face.  She couldn't blink before a Cleama Claw from the captor melef ran the figure through.  Tears were streaming from Hitomi's green eyes as she saw a stricken mother fall, and she thrashed and screamed trying to escape the clutches of the black soldier.  She rose higher into the burning sky, her body being crushed by the metal hand, and no hope of rescue in sight.  She stared around, trying vainly to spot her angel among the giant enemies.  She met a stranger; a man too burly to be Van, silhouetted against the red.  His face was invisible, but he wore spread wide, a pair of wings.  He swooped down like a hawk.  He was a torpedo aiming for her.  Coming to get her.

            Again, she found herself straight upright in bed.  The guest rooms of the merchant ship were modestly extravagant, adorned with silk and lace, but obviously rarely used.  There was a floor of them on one of the upper decks, each having two windows flanking a four-poster bed.  She huddled in her covers with her shirt wadded tightly in a fist against her racing heart.  "Vision!"  She cried.  "Another vision!  The strongest vision yet!  What happened to me!?"

            "Hitomi?" Jiai cracked open the door, then opened it all the way when she saw that her friend was awake.  "I knocked and you didn't answer. I didn't know if you were in here or not."

            "I'm here."  Hitomi said, wearily.  Her next question was jaded and toneless  "What's wrong?"

            "Nothing."  Jiai answered, taken a little off guard.  "I was just wondering where you were.  Are you okay?"

            "Yeah, yeah I'm fine."  Hitomi answered.  "I'm exhausted."

            "I'm sorry."  Jiai sat down on the foot of her bed.  "Well, what I was wanting to ask you was about Zaibach.  You know, the king and queen.  You've been there before haven't you?"

            Hitomi became aware again of why she was feeling so guilty and where they were going.   She rubbed her eyes and climbed out of bed, her pleated skirt wrinkles unevenly.  She bent down and grabbed her Nikes from under her bed.  "Zaibach?  Yes, I've been three, but that was under different circumstances.  I don't know what its like in Zaibach since peace happened."

            "Oh."  Jiai said, leaning back against one of the posts.

            Hitomi looked sideways at her and brought one leg up to tie her shoe.  "But if you're wondering about who the king and queen are, the Queen you remember is Millerna's sister Eries."

            Jiai straightened immediately.  "Really?"

            It was apparent to Hitomi that this was what her friend had been fishing for and looked up to meet her eyes.  Hitomi had, in the presence of both Millerna and Jiai, begun to lose the double sense between them.  Now she saw in her school friend's face the anxious anticipation she'd seen in the young queen many times.  She looked away.  "Yeah, Eries – Eries is kind of obscure to me.   I didn't really know her very well.  She was sort of a presence around the castle when I was there."  She looked again to Jiai.  "But, she loves Millerna very much."  Jiai smiled and Hitomi resigned into an unexplained heavyheartedness.

*                           Escaflowne                           *

            Trapan's transport ship hung over the streets of the capital city of Zaibach.  Beside the figurehead, all of Trapan's men had disembarked to look into repairs for their melefs or attend to other, local army duties.  Areolar was still in a bad mood.  He hounded his sister for a good part of the morning, waiting for a chance to get a word with her.  The chance came in the hallway outside Trapan's new resident chambers while Virial was in audience.  He rolled his shoulders and came to stand next to his fuming younger sibling who still hadn't forgiven him for the interruption the day before.  When he addressed her, she could sense a bit of tact in his voice.  "Sis?"

            "What?"  She spat flatly.  Her mind had been constantly in that valley in the Adynatons.  What had been said, what had been done, and especially what could have happened if her brother hadn't interrupted.  She would have gotten her first kiss, but Areolar had to barge in and go a-wall on her.  If he made one more move to jeopardize her secret about Glaucus she would have to kill him.

            Areolar hardened his brown eyes at her curtness.  "You know I'm supposed to look out for you, right?"

            "I don't need your nursing, Areolar!  I think I've made that clear!" She shot.  "I have my own career.  I've built it without your help and I'll continue to do so if you don't mind.  I thought we'd agreed to that from the start."

            "We did."  He admitted, hotly.  He glanced to Resultant, Vector and Prestress who were standing a little way down the hall, listening but trying not to stare.  The tall blond man leaned in to whisper hoarsely in Torsion's ear, one arm against the wall beside her head.  "You've seen how he looks at you."

            "I could whip Resultant in a minute."  She answered, rolling her eyes.

            "Not him."  Areolar said, impatiently.  "HIM."  She sharpened her eyes toward her brother and twisted her face into a frown.  "I'm looking out for you.  To keep you from getting hurt."

            "Virial wouldn't hurt me."  Torsion snapped.  "You don't know anything about it!"

            "I know my own commander!"  Areolar shouted.  "I know his strength and honor and have seen and admired his attitude.  He's hard, cold, and self-serving."

            "You don't know him."  She growled, her eyes staring into her brother's forearm.

            "No YOU don't know him."  Areolar shouted.  The others down the hall turned an eye.  "The eyes he makes at you – there's nothing but harm behind them."

            "Glaucus wouldn't hurt me."  Torsion said again.

            Areolar looked confused and put off. "What!?"

            "Glaucus wouldn't HURT ME!"  Torsion yelled in his face.  She flung his arm away from her face and stomped off down the hall away from her fellow captains.  Areolar stumbled and watched her go with a scowl.  Resultant and Prestress stared intently now.  Vector stood at constant attention, seeing nothing but the other side of the hallway.  Areolar turned on them, his covert operation ruined.  "You've seen it haven't you!?"  He barreled over, Prestress's slanted eyes relaxing indifferently.  The fifth captain shot a finger to each of them.  "You've seen what's going on!"

            "We haven't seen anything."  Vector reported.  "We only follow orders."

            "You four are together on assignment."  He said, trying hard to establish a looming presence next to the giant, his brown eyes were burning with amber fire that was white at its heart.  "Make sure he doesn't touch her."

            "Commander Virial is not in that state of mind."  Vector said, informatively.

            Areolar snarled again.  "I don't care!  I am disembarking shortly for the royal Palace and I don't want to have him drooling on her.  It's your job to make sure he stays away from her!"

            "You don't trust us."  Prestress stated, blandly. "Why bother giving us orders if you do not trust us to complete them."

            "What are you implying!?"  Areolar challenged.

            Prestress closed his eyes, the edges slanting upward.  "Orders are issued to those who are trusted to follow them.  You command without confidence.  Your actions are off-balance."

            "Are you insulting me?"  Came the charge, the captain was quick to take the defensive, feeling as if his authority as one of the five captains of the Zaibachian Dragon forces was an issue.  He stepped toward the beast-man."

            Prestress again took it in stride.  "I was stating a fact"

            "Listen, you!  You're arrogant!  And I don't like that!"

            "Are you any less?"  Prestress asked.  "We are equal rank: captain.  Therefore it is equal for me to regard you the same."

            Areolar had had enough bantering with philosophy and wound up for a punch.  Prestress blinked slowly and leveled his eyes to his peer, tightening the muscles in his neck and preparing internally for a blow while leaving his outside calm and unchanged.  Areolar let fly and was caught by Vector's huge hand just inches away from the hybrid's nose.  The force of the impact moved the impala's flaxen hair.  Areolar realized what had happened and darted his sharply constricted eyes up into the bald man's face.  He yanked his fist from the captain's hand and Vector's bulk returned to its previous uniformity.  "This aggression is misdirected."

            Areolar fumed, obviously angry but no longer enraged.  His face was a pot at boil.  "Fine.  I wont trust you with this. I'll find a way to handle it myself."  He stormed off in the same direction as his sister, leaving the three remaining captains to wait for the commander outside Trapan's audience chamber.  Resultant had been unusually quiet.  The impulsive 19-year-old leaned, fuming and consumed against the wall.  He wanted Torsion. He'd always wanted Torsion.  He thought that with all the time their party had spent together he had made it clear, but now he had competition with his superior officer.  He'd reached an impasse.  There were two options and he favored neither one: give up on her or confront him.  He leaned, plotting as the meeting continued inside.

            "Atlantis escaped again?"  Trapan asked, pacing around on the edge of the shadows.  He never liked to keep much light in his audience chambers, the very essence of his existence a conflict between light and dark.  He liked to keep the game in his field.  Virial stood in the center of a bath of sunlight filtering dirtily through the polluted clouds of Zaibach as lifeless as ever as his leader analyzed him.  "And the Merchant was confronted but uncooperative.  You were driven away by the Dragon and his company?"  He turned sharply.  "Machine, you are getting rusty.  You've completed little and our time is shortening."

            "Yes sir." Came the regulated response.

            Trapan tightened his face.  One thing about his machine; he could never tell if his criticism was making an impact or not.  Trapan stood in shadow and threw his black cloak off of one shoulder, revealing the black on black embroidery of his suit and the obsidian ornate belt and hilt holding his jeweled sword.  Even now the stones were glowing faintly under his left arm, their light making the glossy threads of his rich tunic glisten like gossamer.  Virial did not turn to see, but Trapan rested his left wrist on the studded handle, causing the pink and green to grow in intensity.  "Well, there's still a chance.  You found the Hero in Deidlas did you?"

            "Yes sir."  Virial answered affirmatively.  "You were correct."

            "Hmn…"  Trapan sniggered, he moved his fingertips across the large stone at the butt of his sword, its surface blaring as he moved back into the light.  "I can see his mind."  He swept up next to Virial who turned to cast his pallid eyes on him.  "You've come to the right place, Machine, if you are fishing for Heroes.  When the first plan does not succeed, the second shall.  It is slightly less favorable yes, but if a Hero thinks like his enemy he would consider – retreat to the last place you would ever want to be.  Take yourself out of your comfort zone.  Make yourself miserable.  Your enemies will never find you there.  They will never think to look for you in a place that would kill you, so that is where you go.  He has come directly to us.  For our rich Asturian Hero, taking refuge in an urban city slum without the novelty of natural light or fresh air would write the pact of Hell."  His coal black eyes flashed.  "I depart for the Stronghold of the Master at midnight.  I expect to meet him there if he has not already seen our delay.  If chance belays our meeting, we head north and follow his wake.  You have until twelve to deliver Atlantis to me.  Otherwise your fate will not be manipulated favorably."  He sneered to himself at the thought and turned his back to cut a dark silhouette against the dusty light.  Virial bowed and turned to leave, but was called one last time when their backs were to each other.  "Remember, Machine, when you find the Hero, leave him to me.  He is in need of remedy for his ill-favored mind."  He hissed to himself.  "I deserve that privilege."

            "Yes sir."

*                          Escaflowne                           *

            "There it is!"  Merle cried, her tail twitching back and forth. 

            Koneko pressed her face against the new glass of the bridge windshield.  "Wow!  That's the ugliest city I've ever seen!"

            Dryden laughed, standing over them with his hands on his hips.  "That's Zaibach for you.  The only purely industrial country in Gaea.  When Dornkirk first arrived here he preached to these people about science and technology until the people obsessed over it.  They left their previous occupations and devoted their lives to wheels and steam…" he directed them back out over the jagged skyline, "and that's what you get."

            "Its dirtier than LA in August."  Daiji said.  Dryden gave him a look that made his double laugh.  "Zaibach is really dirty."

            "I need to see this world of yours someday."  Dryden said, shaking his head.

            "Holy cow!  You really should!"  Daiji cried excitedly.  "Oh!  It'd be so great!  You could come and visit and stay at my place.  I'll show you around town, you can come to all my favorite haunts, meet friends.  We can stay up until three watching old kung-fu movies and eating refrigerator chili, it'll be great!" 

            "I didn't understand a word you just said."  Dryden mused.  "But you know I'd love it."

            Daiji grinned and gave him a quick nod.  "We'd have to get you a new outfit though."  Dryden smirked.

            Van and Millerna arrived.  Van was sounding hasty. "Are we –!?"  But he stalled when he saw that they were indeed there.

            Millerna ran up after him.  Her mind was unlike his, focusing on the present instead of visions of the past.  She took as sweep of the landscape and spotted the two tanned doubles standing there.  "Dryden!"  All smiles, the queen dashed up and hugged his arm.  "It's exciting isn't it?  Seeing Eries again?  It is for me!  And I'm glad you're here with me."  He smiled down and her, removed his arm and put it around her shoulders.  She transferred her grip to his middle.

            Kio called up from the steering column.  "We'll be ready to land in fifteen minutes!"

            "Merle," Van requested.  Her ears sprang up to hear his instruction, stars in her eyes, "you and Koneko go get everyone else and gather them up here for a meeting to decide what we're doing."

            "Right away, Lord Van!"  Merle saluted and leapt up.  "C'mon Neko!"

            "I'll race you!"  Koneko challenged.  The two of them dashed off the bridge, each narrowly missing Van as they cut on either side of him.

            One of Dryden's original crewmembers, a cheery young man wit a high-pitched voice and bouncy red-blond hair, stepped up with a sense of respectful attention.  "Sir, I don't think the airship will fit in closely unless we want to hover over the city."

            "I don't think we should do that."  Millerna said, warily, loosening herself on Dryden for a moment.  "We're still not entirely sure that this place is safe for us, and the damage on this ship is pretty individual, we wouldn't want to be seen by the wrong people."

            "Land us on the nearest edge."  Dryden instructed.  "Near the mountains if you can.  We'll go in via cart or wagon or something."

            The confident young hand nodded a quick bow to him and cheerily agreed, "Right sir!" before returning to his post.              

            Dryden gave him a jerk of a wave.  "Thanks Llave."

            "He's chipper for one of four survivors."  Daiji observed, then with a sarcastic comb of his brown bangs he added. "Maybe too happy."

            Dryden pulled his lips tight and let his shoulders sad some, the patch under his eye twitching a little.  Millerna could feel the change around her and looked up, noting a sort of haze coming over him.  It was a feeling that was contagious and she became sad.  This and more made her remember what she'd seen and felt in the library just the day before – it was before she had made him happy.

*                           Escaflowne                           *

            Virial's ship, the Congruency, was docked in the hanger of the Palace Zaibach, Trapan's ship hidden not far in another hangar.  Areolar stormed down his commander's plank, purposely pounding his feet on Virial's property, he blew off steam as he headed out of the ship and down the halls toward the audience chamber.  He didn't need a map or a guide to navigate these halls.  He had been first a captain in the royal army before pledging his services to the Master.  It wasn't long before he'd swept past familiar guards and staff and arrived at the court of his king and queen.  The guards regarded him but made no move to inquire about his purpose or his mood.  In all their time serving, they knew better than to distract Areolar when his temper was up, they'd learned about that in barracks or in mess when he'd gone off at an idiot.  The captain stopped just short of entering the chamber, his nose to the doors, and attempted to gather himself.  The entourage he'd brought with him was just catching up, his haste nearly lapping them in the time it took him to get from the ship to the throne.  He took a deep breath as they filed in behind him, realizing that no matter how protective he was feeling, he couldn't let it get in the way of his goal; persuading the King.  He checked over his shoulder to see if his troops were ready, then entered.

            Queen Eries was as pallid as ever, but had reached a new level of lifelessness upon arriving as Zaibach's bride.  All rooms in this palace were dark, the sky a permanent gray.  The lack of sun had paled her skin to nearly the color of her hair.  Her royal robes consisted of a restricting maroon and black gown, the edges fading to lavender, the color of the amethysts in her crown and earrings.  She'd neglected her elf-like gold clasps since she'd left the sunshine.  Her eyes were blue, but blank.  Her husband, the young unhandsome Lyse Zaibach.  He lacked the looks and strength of a king, his grass-blond head grown to his jaw line.  He had the look of a sheltered soul malnourished and neglected, pale as his wife.  However, his dark brown-red eyes were intelligent and eager, experiencing everything for the first time.  He wore his kingly robes like a coat-rack, the expensive folds draping off of him in duty instead of raiment.  He did not have the mindset for a ruler.  His family had been removed from power for over a generation to make room for Dornkirk's growing empire.  Lyse had the heart to do great things for his people, but was hesitant and easily swayed by logic, false or true.  Areolar planned to make use of this foible.

            He stepped up the long purple velvet carpet and addressed the monarch with false respect.  "Your majesty!"

            Zaibach straightened on his throne but it was his wife who had any trace of leadership.  She stood to meet Areolar.  "Captain?"

            The soldier stopped.  It wasn't that he'd forgotten about the Queen, but her entrance into the subject was a wrench.  He cleared his throat.  "I was addressing the king."

            "But Eries addressed you."  Lyse said pointedly.  He smiled importantly fiercely proud of his bride.  "If she wants to talk to you, you answer her."  Eries looked down to her hand where she fingered her wedding ring.

            Areolar cleared his throat again. "Of course."  He continued speaking but not specifically to the queen.  "I have come on order from my superiors to press upon you an urgent sense of military need."

            "What kind of need?"  Eries asked, raising her eyes to cast a suspicious stare at the young blond.

            "There is a threat of a powerful factionary resistance planning to infiltrate the palace."  He answered.

            Eries paused, unconvinced and swept back to the throne with a billow of her heavy cloak.  "Why have we heard no word of such a resistance?"

            "It has just come up your highness."  Areolar said, weaving his web perfectly.

            "How is it that your superiors found out?"  She asked.

            "We received a messaged from Asturia and Fanelia."  Areolar answered. "Both palaces have been infiltrated by the resistance already."

            Eries's vacant blue eyes narrowed.  "Asturia?"  Her monotones sounded angry. "Why weren't we notified immediately?"

            "That's what I'm doing."  He responded, perhaps too brashly.  "That is why I am pressing that you mount a military guard on the castle."

            "What happened in Asturia?"  Eries asked sharply.

            Areolar knew he had his wrench on the ropes now.  He took a deep breath and tried to muster some mock sympathy for his matriarch.  "The Queen was taken, your Highness."

            Eries became silent and her husband entered the negotiations with a touch of panic in his voice. "How fast can you secure the premises?"

            Bingo.  "In minutes, majesty, we can have the palace flooded with soldiers."  He relaxed his guard, knowing that as long as he sounded confident enough he would have Zaibach under his thumb.

            "When they took over Fanelia, did they take the king?"  Lyse asked.

            "Yes."  Areolar assured.

            "Do it!"  He commanded, trying to sound stately and casting his dark eyes to his wife, making sure she was still safe.  "Do it now!"

            "Yes sir!"  Areolar bowed and hurried out to obey orders, a smirk grown on his face and the sweet taste of future victory in his mouth.

*                           Escaflowne                           *

            Gadess followed Merle and Koneko up the stairs.  The two doubles had lost their cheer in the time between leaving to find the party and returning.  Merle hopped up to the top step before the guest wing and turned to call back down. "He doesn't come out, Mr. Gadess."  She said. "We called for him but he didn't come out."

            Koneko nodded her agreement.  "We thought you could get him out."

            "I'll try."  Gadess sighed.  "But if the boss wants to be left alone, it's not my place to drag him."  He arrived on deck and advanced toward Allen's locked door.  Koneko and Merle hung back on the stairs and watched.  He looked back to them then knocked.  Allen was sitting by himself inside, his long blond hair uncombed and his clothes unkempt.  He'd been sitting on the side of the bed for untold hours: thinking.  As had become his custom recently, he was puzzling over himself, his reactions and his opinions.  He was so different back when he was with Marlene.  Back then he was – more positive.  Hopeful.  He didn't have as many cared then.  He figured now that his life was doomed from the start.  Over the course of his existence he had been happy very seldom.  When he was young he was happy.  Then his father left.  His sister was kidnapped.  His mother died.  He was alone and wandered around Asturia training until he entered the army.  There he met Marlene, and he was happy.  But it wasn't long before she was taken from him by marriage then death.  His fort became his home, then burned.  Battle drove him through pain and a slog of bad memories.  Then Celena returned, but the baggage she brought with her was massing constantly.  Of course he'd fallen in love with Hitomi during that time, but she was taken by Van.  And Millerna… maybe he still loved Millerna, but then again he didn't.  He realized that what he'd found so amiable in Millerna was the memory of Marlene, but he hated to hurt her like that.  The fact was that he'd gotten used to her devotion to him, and had taken for granted that the two of them would always be bound to each other.  But now there was Dryden.  The knight, out of conscience had set her free and she didn't tarry at all.  She didn't wait loyally like she had before.  She didn't even look back.  He had lost her to Dryden twice now… once in marriage and now in love.  He closed a fist around a clump of hair and cursed his fate.  Now he was quick to judge and reluctant to trust.  He realized that there was a temper in him that slept until fueled, and it frightened him.  How many people had he killed in this place?  He hadn't even thought of them as people or realized what he was doing as he cut them down.  Those were the kind of people that Allen hated – methodic killers – and that was the kind of person he'd become.  How?  The shame of it all.

            Gadess's knock jarred him.  He jumped and much of his hair fell in his face.  He cleared his throat quickly.  "Who is it?"

            "Me boss," Gadess called, "you okay?"

            "Yes."  Allen answered, falsely, "I'm fine."

            "The team is meeting on the bridge.  We've arrived in Zaibach.  We need to figure out what we're going to do."  Gadess leaned on the door.  "We could really use you, sir."

            'Use me?' Allen asked himself with a huff. 'Perhaps at one point I was useful.'  He combed back his locks with his fingers.  "I'll be there in a bit."

            "I'll wait for you."  Gadess announced and turned to the two girls.  "Run down and tell them that we're coming."

            "Okay."  Merle agreed.  She looked to Koneko and the two of them bounded back down the stairs.  When they got back to the bridge, everyone else was assembled and holding an informal meeting of their own.  Van and Yosu were situated on either side of Hitomi.  The arrangement was too close of the two of them, who kept eyeing each other, and Hitomi who felt like trophy.  Van broke the vice periodically to stand and speak forcefully at Dryden.  He was at this moment on another of his passionate, accusing rants, the target leaning against the wall, listening sternly with his arms crossed and an impatient look on his face.  Daiji looked about the same sitting against one of the bulkheads next to him.  Millerna watched with Yukari and Amano, feeling like the air was being charged, and Jiai stood on the other side of Daiji looking concerned.  Hakai was staring out the window, feeling a creepy sense of familiarity eating at his nerves.  His sister and Celena were playing dolls o the floor, Leppy under Celena's control and Suru controlling a book with a pretty girl on the cover.  Van continued ranting.

            "We can't just walk in unnoticed!  We probably should be mile away from here!  Staying parked on the doorstep will surely get us stepped on!"

            Hitomi didn't like his yelling and spoke futilely to him. "Van?"

            He didn't even notice her attempt.  "We are the most wanted people in all of Gaea, they'll recognize our faces in an instant!"

            "Why do you assume that Zaibach is dangerous?"  Dryden asked.  "Sure the Draconians on board this ship were in Zaibach uniforms, but there's been no declaration of war, and Eries is ruling here.  Even if there was some sort of plan, she would agree to see us if Millerna requests it.  And if you notice, the other threats came from Asturia.  Even without proof we should use caution but there's no reason to draw swords just yet.  Not everything has to be do or die you know."

            "But it's happening all over Again!"  He slammed a fist down on the corner of the steering column, making Kio jump.  "Zaibach launched the war before!  Since everything's repeating itself, they've got to be the ones starting it now!"

            "But there's no proof!"  Dryden pressed.

            "It's Germany!"  Yosu agreed, standing next to Hitomi, who felt like she was able to breath again.  "It's obvious that they're behind it, because it's the same thing that happened on Earth!"

            "I'm not suggesting we waltz in with a banner and a cheer!"  Dryden cried.  "I'm not an idiot!"  He looked to Van.  "You're not going in, Millerna's not going in, Hitomi, Merle, and I'm not going in until we're sure its safe."

            "Wait!"  Millerna interrupted.  "Eries is my sister!  I should be able to go!"

            "If it's safe."  Dryden told her.  "I propose a scouting party.  Just to check the palace grounds out and see if there's anything suspicious going on."

            "Made of who!?"  Van asked, critically.  "Daiji?  Amano?  Don't be absurd!"

            "Hey!"  Amano defended.  "What do you mean by that!?  We could handle it."

            "You haven't been to Zaibach before!"  Van accused.  "You don't know your way around the city or how to act to keep from being noticed.  How can you expect to sneak into a royal castle!?"

            "It worked with yours!"  Amano hissed.  They launched into a heated argument.  Yosu joined in gladly.  A couple of the Crusade crew on board joined either side.  Hitomi and the other girls tried to quiet the room down with little luck.  Daiji tried to intervene only to end up joining it.  It took Yukari standing on a stool and shouting to bring about order.

            "Okay!  SHUT UP!  SHUT UP!  Everybody calm down!"  They looked up to her and stood down.  She nodded at them.  "Thank you."

            "Well if we're going to send someone in, it should be someone unassuming."  Yosu said.  "Maybe one of us, or a crewmember.  Obviously some of us look more like certain people than others, so that should probably play a part, especially if they're looking for us."

            Reeden was listening in from the ladder to the crow's nest.  "I'll do it."

            Everyone turned, surprised, having forgotten that he was there listening to them.  Dryden raised his eyebrows.  "A volunteer?"

            "I c'n get in."  Reeden said assuredly.

            "Oohh!  Can I go?"  Koneko called.

            Yosu turned sharply to her.  "No."

            "Party pooper."  She huffed.

            "Sir." Llave, the strawberry-blond crewmember reappeared and bowed, his short curled hair bouncing.  "I'll go with him."

            "Really?"  Dryden asked, sounding skeptical.  "I don't know, Llave, it's going to be stressful."

            "I'll do it for you sir!"  Llave assured.  "You need someone unassuming, that's me!"

            "Two?"  Amano asked. "Is that enough?"

            "Good enough for me."  Yukari said.

            "Then head out I guess."  Dryden shrugged. "What's the use in waiting around?  Just see what condition the palace is in.  Don't take any risks or do anything foolish, all we need is a general observation.  I don't even want the two of you stepping inside the gate understand?  Report back as soon as you can."

            "Right."  Reeden answered.

            "Yes sir!" the other agreed.

            Reeden smacked Llave's arm. "C'mon, Chip, let's go."  His companion rubbed his arm, confused, then followed him back to the stairwell to lead them to the gangplank.  On their way out, they caught Hakai's eye.  The boy suddenly received a blinding flash of mischievous inspiration.

            He dropped down next to his sister and Celena.  "C'mon, Su, let's follow 'em."

            "No, Hakai."  Suru whispered, appalled.

            "We can't just sit around this stupid ship anymore!"  He replied hoarsely. "We gotta explore this place!"

            "I don't want to go out there."  Suru said.  She looked up to Celena.  "It's a scary place. I'm scared to go out there."

            "I'm not afraid!"  Hakai boasted. "I'm going whether you're coming or not!  Stay if you're chicken!" He dashed off without a second's thought.

            Suru's meek call went unanswered after him.  "Hakai!  Come back!"

*                           Escaflowne                           *

            The streets of the outermost layers of Zaibach were just as filthy at day as they had been at night, but that couldn't stop Mr. "Pascinian Valence" Nadeje.  He was job hunting and hoping to find a place that sold cheap Zaibachian clothing.  Costumes for he and Ayen were priority as soon as he found some more money, he could only pay for their hotel room for so much longer with what he carried in Asturian change.  At the moment he only looked a little less obvious in his hooded cloak than he would in plain Asturian finery.  He was finding his nationality to be a hindrance.  Most of the employers would reject him the minute he opened his mouth declaring "No Foreigners" with a  bitter twinge that made him suspect that the whole country was still suffering from the war.  If only he wasn't Asturian – if only his judgment had led him to another country – if only he'd never been discovered by the faction.  Yes, then everything would be better.  If the faction had never found his secret, they happy at home in peaceful Asturia.  He would be upstanding and honest, and perhaps Perda would still be alive.

            No, no maybes.  His wife WOULD still be alive.

            But what could he do about that now?  The Master had snared him and it was all he could do to run away with the bear trap still biting his leg.  If only he could see the outcomes of his choices.  Now that was the bottom line.  Divination would make everything better.

            He stepped up to a store that was drab and gray.  It looked like every other store he'd visited.  He hoped it wouldn't result in the same response.  Trying his best to wish for success, he entered.  It seemed like every building and every face was lit in green.  It made all the people and places look ill.  The proprietor here was no exception: overweight, unkempt, and unhappy.  He looked just like every other disagreeable person he'd met in this part of town.

            The man barked gruffly at Seguir as he entered.  "Whaddaya want?"

            Seguir tried to hoarsen up his voice and frowned to seem more local.  "I'm looking for -  I want work!"

            "Work?"  The man laughed.  "Don't we all!  What does a foreigner want work here for?"

            His act fell through, but to avoid looking petty, he stayed scratchy while speaking more naturally, at least for himself.  "I need work because I need money."

            The man laughed again and shook his head.  Seguir could sense another rejection coming on, but the shop-keep responded favorably.  "My only help was just drafted. I could only use you if you stayed back and did stock work and the neighbors didn't see your foreign-ness in the store."

            "I'll do anything."  Seguir replied, pointedly, squaring up his shoulders but feeling pathetic.  If he played his cards right, the great Captain of the Asturian Palace Guard would finally have a paycheck as a stock boy.

            The guy shifted through some papers before answering.  "Ah, I can't take you today.  I got stuff to put in order.  Come back tomorrow and you'll have a job."

            Seguir nodded quickly.

            "Ya gotta be here early though, or I'll give the job to someone else."

            "I'll be here at dawn."  Seguir replied.  The man shooed him out and he was back to the streets.  He smiled under his hood as he headed for 'home', the filth looking slightly less filthy in the light of hope.  'The first step is down – maybe things will turn out all right after all'  On his way through the crowd, he was hit broadside by a blond boy.  The pre-teen dashed around and left a stream of upset people in his wake.  He shoved Seguir as he ran past.

            "Watchit, geezer!  Outta my way!"

            The boy vanished among the throngs except for the trail of turned heads continuing through an intersection toward the palace.  Seguir stopped and stared into the center of town where the spires of the Palace Zaibach stood gangly over the slums.  For some reason, that boy seemed very familiar.

*                           Escaflowne                           *

            Hakai was catching up with the two scouts, causing ample disruption and distraction as he went.  Reeden was speaking with Llave, a conversation in which he did most the talking and his companion listened patiently.  Although the two of them were about the same age, Reeden fancied himself more world-wise and capable – translating therefore into superior – and smacked Llave in the arm every now and then to make sure he was still paying attention.  "You see, Chip, in these kinda jobs ya gotta be natural, ya know.  Ya gotta be seamless."  Llave smiled pleasantly and nodded.  Reeden smacked him again.  "What I'm tellin' ya, Chip, is ya ain't seamless!  If you wanna pull this off ya gotta relax."

            "But I am relaxed."  Llave said, his light, childish green eyes looking innocent and child-like.  He had a natural pep that Reeden was beginning to find annoying.

            "Then stop been so dern cheerful!" The other snapped.  "Just that stupid look on your face'll give us away!"

            Llave blinked cluelessly.  "What look are you talking about Reeden?"

            "Ya know, just…"  He stopped and realized that his companion was totally oblivious, "just keep quiet!"  Then added; "And stop smiling!"  Llave nodded and tried to pull his face out straight to banish the smile.  It looked like every available muscle in his face was straining and Reeden rolled his eyes. "What the heck!?  That's not any better!  Look just, nevermind!  Do whatever!"

            At that moment, Hakai ran up from behind and gave the two of them a shove.  They reacted quickly, Reeden throwing his fists up for duking and Llave freaking out until he realized who it was who had pushed them.  The blond pointed to the newcomer.  "Oh!  Look!  It's the boy from the ship!"

            "What!?"  Reeden pointed an accusing finger at the 12-year-old.  "What d'you follow us for, kid!?  You think this is a joke or something!?"

            "None of your beeswax!"  Hakai shouted, snottily.  "I've been holed up on that rig for long enough!  I'm not doin' nothin' any more, I'll do what I want!"

            "Then go get lost!"  Reeden replied.

            "No!"  Llave fretted.  "No, we can't lose him!  What would Dryden say!?  We'll get in trouble!"

            "I don't give a darn what Dryden says!"  Reeden responded.  "I'm not taking him with me!  'E's not MY responsibility!  The kid's insane, and we're not supposed to takin' risks!"

            "Then I'll take him with me."  Llave said decisively.  He turned a baby-sitter tone on Hakai.  "You'll be nice won't you?"

            Hakai snorted.  "Nice my butt!"  He shoved through them. "Outta my way!"

            Llave jumped aside.  "Oh my goodness!"

            "Great!"  Reeden huffed and took off running after the boy.  "Now look what you've done!"

            "W-What did I do!?"  Llave asked, running after him.

            Reeden shouted over his shoulder.  "He's gonna ruin everything!  We gotta catch him!"

*                           Escaflowne                           *

            Eries stood in the closed, windowless chamber that was her throne room.  She felt so isolated from her new country in this place.  Asturia's throne room was open to the air, connected to the town around it.  If Zaibach were like Asturia, she would have known about this new threat much earlier.  As it was, she felt like she was in a box.  That man – the one who had told her about Asturia's invasion – he had a suspicious atmosphere.  She didn't trust him, but she couldn't afford to dismiss him.  This was the first word she'd heard from the outside for along time.  Plus her senses were giving her the sense that at least some of what he'd said was true, and she couldn't help feeling anxious about her sister.  Millerna was 'taken', he had said.  Did 'taken' mean kidnapped or… worse?  She couldn't decide which outcome was least horrible and struggled whether or not to begin grieving yet.  If only she hadn't had to leave her all alone in that palace.  If she'd been there, the invaders would have been stopped, she was sure of it.  She knew how to deploy troops, build defenses, read warning signs, and all manner of procedures that Millerna hadn't had time to learn from her father before he became ill.  Now that she thought of it, she, the queen of Zaibach, wasn't allowed to use her know how here either.

            Lyse entered with a pair of guards and saw her standing there.  His shoulders sank.  With a weak hand he directed his convoy to take their place by the entrance.  Eries had been given to him, but he treasured her.  He accepted the sorry truth that he was no use as a leader.  Eries was his support, strength and crutch.  He felt a duty to her, if only as a close friend.  "Eries – "  She ignored him.  He thought she hadn't heard him so approached.  "Eries?"

            "Don't try to make excuses, Lyse."  She said, flatly.  "I haven't the heart to accept your comfort or support."

            "You can't expect me not to try and help you, Eries."  Lyse said.  "It hurts me too when you're sad."

            "You should leave then, and we'll both feel better."

            "I don't know what you're trying to tell me."  He admitted. "If you are worried about an invasion, there are guards everywhere and we're even mobilizing a melef perimeter guard.  We'll be completely safe."

            "Its not that."  She said, tersely, surprised at how quickly she was falling apart and turning away.

            "Oh." He understood.  "It's our sister then."  He tried to sound hopeful. "I'm sure Millerna's fine!  She's seen war before and – and she knows how to look after herself."

            Eries turned weakly.  "Stop."

            Lyse did not obey her.  "And don't forget – she's got great people working for her!  And there's that knight Allen that always keeps his eye on her… he'll make sure-"

            Eries removed herself from his presence and flew to the door as a flock of birds would vacate a tree when disturbed.  The king could do nothing but watch her go wit a heavy heart, knowing that he'd overdone it.  He looked to the floor and combed through his hay-grass hair as he drug his train through the dark.

            All around, the Guymelef army was moving into positions.  Alseides, the standard Zaibachian melefs, were piloted out of the hangars and took up perimeter watches over the roofs of the city.  Among them, filtering about were the four Maginot, but not the Tamarak.  The Stallion Melef remained in its place of honor, the obsidian armor shining in the dull gleam of the bunker.  Every building in Zaibach was closed to keep out the dust and pollution that found its way into ever crack of the desert-like country.  Trapan stood at the melef's hoof like feet.  He stared up at it lovingly and his Machine, the Commander, watched in wait.  Virial was not showing any visible signs of curiosity through all his layers but he'd never seen the head of the Master's army behave this way.  Trapan spoke. "The Tamarak is magnificent is it not?"  Virial remained silent as his leader raised a hand toward his suit.  He was too far to reach, but the red energist at the chest began to glow, as if pleased by the very possibility of his touch.  "I am bound to it you know," he lowered his hand and the glow died, "If I were human, it would be by blood."

            "Sir?"

            "The Tamarak came to me in the north."  He said.  "It lay under snow and ice on the plains of Asgard.  Expulsion of Atlantis.  The Master assured me of its use and its power.  Created by an ancient civilization that existed before the fall of the Draconians, this creation was meant to share the blood of its master.  I however, need no blood to bond with this creation.  It is mine in spirit, in will, in wish."  He turned to Virial.  "It is mine." He moved away and the melef seemed to fall into shadow as he did.  Virial followed patiently, anticipating the reason for this sudden tour of the Guymelef hangars.  Distantly, he could hear the perimeter melefs suiting up and shipping out.  The suits towering above him now, in the dark, were outdated, specially built, privately owned or kept secret.  Trapan walked and spoke without acknowledging him.  "I've missed it."  He reached a corner of the room that seemed to be separate from the other parked suits, the haunted edge had the feeling of a condemned house.  Virial could see the outline of windows latched shut above it and a hulking, dusty frame.  Trapan stopped by this and turned partially.  "You'll no longer pilot it."

            Virial stopped.  He could feel the attachment between the leader and his melef, but wondered why he was taking it back.  Was this punishment?  But Trapan pulled a rope lever to open the windows above the phantom melef.  The light poured down on a new and fearsome machine.  Red and sleek, the armor sloped around its hulking frame, an invisibility cape hanging off its massive shoulders.  It was a technological Frankenstein, pieced back together and shut away to hide the legacy it held from a time when it roamed free in the war torn world.  When it was salvaged from the final defeat, those of the new regime were panicked at its survival, as if it was an omen.  It was shut away, and now it stood before him, unbound, just forgotten among the lines of mecha.  Forgotten and ignored.

            "Oreides."  Trapan's slick voice said.  Virial looked to him, the cloaked man smiling riley.  "The Fire Demon.   Only two of its make were ever constructed.  Its twin was destroyed in the final stand of the Zaibachian war.  This was abandoned.  The Demon himself abandoned it.  I have been anxious to see it move again."

            "Sir?"

            'This is your new melef."  Trapan said.  "Use it appropriately."  He turned and left him there.  Virial nodded his salute, but when his superior was gone, he inspected the suit in private adoration, both legendary and dangerous, the Fire Demon was his own.

*                           Escaflowne                           *

            Hakai made it inside the perimeter of the palace guard much too easily.  For some reason, his random dashings had found a hole in the wall that was not being guarded and a hidden stretch of walk that let him straight into the compound.  He wasn't looking out for danger, or even committing half a mind to what he was doing, he was just running madly in a fit of glee.  Reeden and Llave peeked from behind a jutting wall to watch awestruck what he'd done.

            "How in the heck - !?"  Reeden cried.  "That kid's unbelievable!"

            "Do we follow him?"  Llave asked.

            "Of course!"  Reeden snapped.  "We have to follow him!  Plus he's led us right into the palace, we'll be able to find a ton 'a stuff in there!"

            "But Dryden said under no circumstances – "

            "Look, which way do you wanna piss Dryden off?  Go inside or loose the kid?"  Reeden spat.  

            "Hey!  You two!"  A voice called.  The two spies froze and turned slowly to face a Zaibachian guard who stood on the handle end of a very sharp spear. "State your names!  What are you doing here!?"

            "We're – we're uh – "  Llave stammered.  Reeden stared pitchforks at him from the corners of his eyes.  Llave tried to piece an excuse together by counting on his fingers. The guard grew more and more suspicious. "We're Lost!"  The merchant crewman cried.  He smiled, pleased with himself.  "That's it!  We're lost!"

            The Crusader smacked himself in the face.

            The guard jerked his spear.  "Get your hands up!  You're under arrest."  

            Reeden took the matter into his own hands.  He grabbed the spear behind the pointed head and used his wrist as a fulcrum to bang the guard under the chin.  The man fell back against the wall and Reeden grabbed Llave's vest.  "Come on!"

            The two dashed around and across the borderline.  Another guard spotted them and took up pursuit, blowing a whistle.  Llave fretted as he was led across the compound.  "We're in trouble!  What are we going to do now!"

            Reeden cursed under his breath, then barked back to his companion.  "Just shut up and run!  We're gonna have to lose these guards and get into the palace to find the kid!"

            Llave's green eyes went wide. "Go IN!?!  We weren't supposed to go IN!"

            "Its perfect to make sure the place is safe!"  Reeden reported.  

            Llave was breaking a sweat.  "Doesn't this prove the contrary?"

            "Grrrr."  Reeden fumed.  "SHUT UP AND RUN!!!"  The two of them cut into the open cargo doors of a military storage hangar.  There was no sign of Hakai anywhere, and no thought to find him as the two fugitives dashed among rows of supplies.  Reeden looked back and noticed four guards after them now, more than likely more would be coming.  He could hear them shouting to each other.

            "The Resistance!  Those guys are trying to take over the palace!  Get them!"

            He led Llave into a second bunker full of barrels and crates with numeral tags printed across them.  Llave stopped to pant behind a stack of barrels.  "Were are we going? Do you know?"

            "Duh I don't know!"  Reeden shot back. "Does it look like I've done this before!?"

            "I thought you said that you knew about "jobs like this"!"  Llave cried.

            "Hush!"  Reeden hissed.  "I got a sense of where we need to be, and it's not here!  But we gotta lose these freaks first!"

            "How are you doing to do that!?"

            Reeden checked back into the aisle they had run down.  The guards were on their way.  He drug Llave around to the other side and shoved their sheltering stack of barrels down on top of their assailant's heads.  The tower hit the opposite aisle and brought another stack down to bar the way, leaving hard tack lying in crumbs on the floor and four dazed and subdued Zaibachian soldiers.  Reeden nodded at the efficiency of his work, then slapped Llave in the chest again.  "C'mon, Chip, lets go."

            Llave was speechless and stammered as he pointed.  "L-Look what you did!"

            Reeden grabbed his arm and drug him from the hangar.  "Come on…"  Just outside the storage bunker, Melefs were massing.    They glanced up to watch as they dashed toward the main building.  The Alseides all made their ways casually toward perimeter guard posts but among them were three Maginot headed toward a hangar on the opposite side of the compound.  Reeden took a double take, ducked aside and directed his companion with a point.  "It's them!"     

            "Them?"  Llave asked, cluelessly.

            "Those lousy creeps that follow us everywhere!" He said.  He turned to Llave. "They're the ones who attacked yer ship yes'erday!  This place ain't safe if they're here!  They'll be lookin' for the boss and e'ryone!"

            "We have to get out of here." Llave agreed.  "And Millerna can't get in to see her sister.  That's too bad.  She'll be disappointed."

            "Let her be."  Reeden replied.  "Now we gotta go back and tell 'em what's goin' down."

            "No but wait!"  Llave bade. "What about that boy?"

            "Ah man…"  Reeden moaned. "Why can't we just leave the kid!?"

            "Oh!  We can't do that!"  The blond cried.  "That's terrible!"

            "I know, I wasn't serious!"  He shot back, then looked to waiting door.  "I bet he's in there.  C'mon, Chip, let's get."  The two of them slid along the shadowed side of the bunker until they hit their target: a supply door leading them straight inside the body of the palace.  

            Unbeknownst to them, across the complex, one Maginot was not in use.  Torsion was perfecting hasty repairs to her craft.  It was mostly a ploy.  She wanted to get away form the other captains, especially her brother.  And she wanted to catch Virial alone again.  It seemed like the only times in the past that she and Glaucus were ever alone were when repairs were being performed, so that was what she set about doing.  If she hung back, perhaps he could find her. As she sat on the lap of her melef, turning screws and tightening bolts, she heard the approach of another melef.

            "Torsion!"

            She recognized Resultant's delinquent voice instantly and became suddenly disgusted.  The feeling gurgled up like acid from her stomach as he stopped just behind her.  She had become very comfortable with the idea that she was spoken for, and didn't want to deal with his flirting.  She let him know how she felt by snapping at him with her back turned.  "What!?"

            Resultant clenched his teeth one long spider-like bang caught between them.  "What's wrong with you!?!  Are you just in a fight with your brother or are you snappy all the time now!?"

            "I'm sick of you!"  She replied.  "Why don't you mind your own business?"

            "This is my business!"  Resultant shouted at her.  "Since when were you getting fresh with the commander, huh!?!  You're not a teenager, Torsion, stop messing around on the job!"

            "Hey!"  She turned on him, her eyebrows twitching in fury.  "I've got an older brother on my back, I don't have to answer you for anything!  But in defense of my character, you ARE a teenager!  You don't know anything about real love and all you DO is mess around!  You are stupid and arrogant and horribly annoying!  I wouldn't mind if you never spoke to me again!"

            "Hey, You don't mean that!"  Resultant said, trying to pass it off as an empty result of anger.  Torsion wasn't joking and his response only made her angrier.

            "You know what?"  She fumed, sneering at him.  "Don't speak to me again!"

            "What!?"  Resultant cried.

            "Don't speak to me or look at me or dare to associate yourself with me ever again!  I don't need your bating, I have Glaucus and he is who I'll answer to.  He's the only person I'm going to respond to ever again.  He has enough power, he can have your killed if he wants!  So take than and sit on it, and I hope it impales you!"

            Resultant was infuriated, but he noticed soldiers standing around them on the ground, listening intently to the exchange.  The 19-year-old had little choice but to leave her there.  One thing he did choose, however: Virial was the reason for this change.  Areolar didn't trust him anymore because of the way he responded to his sister, and deep down inside, Resultant's loyalty had disappeared and been replaced with a cold-iron hate.  This was the kind of hate he held for someone who had taken something from him.  This was the hate he harbored for the Allied forces, and for Escaflowne.  He'd been left alive to get revenge and he knew a man who would help him do it.  He stomped toward the palace, a fire burning in his eyes.  He shoved past Prestress and Vector who were waiting outside the hangar for him.  When he left, they didn't follow, but waited silently watching him go.  When he disappeared inside the main hangar the beast-dragon spoke.  " He has a purpose."

            Vector nodded inside his suit and stepped the machine around to see the scene that Resultant had left behind.  The familiar woman and her melef confirmed his suspicions.  "Ill purpose."

            "Should we watch Torsion?"  Prestress asked.  "It is what Areolar wanted us to do, but would that be even of us?  Would she do the same if we were in her place?"

            "My loyalty is to Virial."  Vector replied.  "I hold no other oath but to him.  Still I can sense his loyalty to her.  I feel he would have me protect her and I shall."

            "And Resultant -?"  Prestress asked.

            "Does he plan to go through me?  He will fall before me if he does."  Vector looked with dullness back after Resultant who was no longer in sight.  "My course is set."

            Prestress leaned back, his long neck arching down as he closed his golden eyes.  "I have no counterbalance," he looked up at Vector, "but if he would kill me to get what he wants, I shall respond the same.  There is no need to balance my presence here, now.  Your loyalty to me requires my loyalty to you and therefore to all you deem fit to defend."

            "Your compassion has its limits."  Vector said to him.

            Prestress straightened again inside his cockpit.  "Compassion is slant.  There is no certain return for such an uneven thing."

            "Let it be slant then."  Vector finalized.  He stood strong and alert, a tower of muscle.  "I have one course to follow slanted or not."

            Prestress sighed his own amen.  "Then may it be straight."

*                           Escaflowne                           *

            Hakai had wandered about the palace for a good ten minutes without getting caught.  The whole had endeavor had been simple.  His interest had led him naturally to all the important spots of the establishment: the quarters, the sorcerers chamber, the dungeons, the Guymelef bay, the training ground… now he'd found the long hallway to the long hallway past the throne room.  The architecture was black polished marble with intricate line patterns and pointed designs.  The room itself was enormous, possessing one entrance and surrounded on all sides by undecorated hallways spare this grand entrance.  It was a striking contrast from all other areas in the palace, which were lit by green lamps and decorated in minimalist style.  Here there were torch brackets and the flames there glowed redder than heart in comparison.  There were guards  posted alongside these, covering the engraved door, but they had moved aside to let the King pass.  Hakai ducked around the corner and watched as the monarch left under guard cover, muttering to himself.  He turned, luckily to head the opposite direction down the Imposing Hall. Hakai could barely make out what he was saying.  "Eries is upset and I can't fix anything for her.  I've flooded this place with guards like that captain said.  Those resistance fighters will not take this place like they did Asturia and Fanelia.  Am I doing the right thing?  I'm only looking out for her welfare, why would she still be troubled?  Could it be that she's blaming herself for Asturia?  I can see – if my sister was 'taken', I would be worried.  Maybe I just don't know enough for this kind of thing…"  He sighed and disappeared around the far corner.

            Hakai snuck back toward throne room entrance but saw two guards reappear to close and bar the door.  "Rats."  That ended that tangent, time to find somewhere new to explore.  He headed down the hallway perpendicular to his access hallway and found a decorated staircase.  The guard at the bottom wasn't paying attention so Hakai hopped on the banister and slid down, using him as a landing pad.  The soldier let out a squawk but hit his head when he fell and was knocked unconscious.  Hakai sat on his back and laughed.  "This is so much fun!  If only I had some matches or something!"  The man underneath him groaned and he punched his metal helmet into the carpeted metal floor.  He grinned in satisfaction.  "Stupid freak. Who hired you anyway!?  Worthless loser."  He got up and dashed down another hall.  He ran helter-skelter until the furnishings dwindled to nothing and the decorations surrendered to gray conformity.  Reaching an open doorway, he found himself in the Levi-ship dock.  He wandered in, staring up at the ships tied down nearby.  Right in front of him was the Congruency, Areolar standing on the gangplank, giving orders to those still on his commander's ship, his back facing the boy and unaware that they were so close to a member of the Eyes' party.  

            Suddenly he was snatched and pulled behind a stack of unloaded cargo, his mouth and arms restricted by hands.  "Heh!"  Reeden whispered. "I TOLD you he'd come to us if we just waited!"

            Llave had both hands over Hakai's mouth, doing all he could to keep him quiet.  "But –"  The 12-year-old bit his palm and the blond let out a "Yeow!"

            Reeden freed one thrashing arm and slapped a hand over his compatriot's mouth to stifle the yelp.  "Shut up!  Do you wanna get caught or what!?"

            Llave shook his head frantically, tears of pain in his eyes.  Reeden peered around over the wooden crates then jerked Llave's head toward the great open hangar doors and their probable escape.  "C'mon, let's go."

            "Mmph Mmphmmmph Mmph!"

            "Shut up!"

            They snuck along the wall from cargo pile to cargo pile and under the bellies of ships until they reached the lip of the wall.  At this point the lookout peered his head around the corner and quickly ducked them all down again.  A Maginot thundered past in haste, its footsteps shaking the ground beneath their feet and knocking Llave off his squat.  The machine stopped in front of the Congruency, sinking to one knee as the cockpit door opened.  The three foreigners quickly dashed out of the chamber.  Resultant came like a ball of fire from his melef, leaping down to meet Areolar with a malicious glimmer in his blue eyes.  "Areolar!"

            The captain stopped his orders and looked sidelong at him.

            "You want to kill Virial!"

            The captain was taken by surprise, checking that none of his men heard the cry.  He turned his full attention to Resultant, answering evasively.  "What?"

            "You want to kill him."  Resultant repeated, calmer, "for Torsion, you want him dead so he'll leave her alone."

            Areolar cocked an ear and looked oddly at him, suspecting that he should be outraged but finding confirmation bias in his motivation.  "Why?"

            "I want to help you do it."  The shadows on Resultant's face seemed to contrast more as his voice grew sinister.  "I want you to kill him, but I want to get my sword in him before the job is over.  I want revenge."

            "Revenge?"  Areolar asked, liking his offer more now that they shared a wish.  "Is revenge all you think about?"

            "It is all I live for."  Resultant replied, gravely.  "Its what they all will die for."

To Be Continued…


	15. Episode 15: DoubleSidedness

Escaflowne:   Mirrors 

Episode 15:  Double-Sidedness

"I don't know what is going on with me, Gadess."  Allen admitted.  He and his first mate were moving down to the cockpit.  "I don't know what's happened to me."

            "What do you mean, Boss?"  Gadess asked, growing wary. 

            Allen hung his head as they took the stairs from the guest wing down into the elaborately decorated hallways, their feet making sounds on the polished wood.    Gadess had always been the best friend that he had, and it seemed like right now he was the only person alive who could help him sort out his confused mind.  "Have you noticed a change in me?"

            "Sir?"

            The knight sighed heavily.  "I'm going to share something with you.  You wouldn't mind?"

            "Of course not."

            "I've been having doubts."  He said with gravity.  "Doubts in myself.  I don't think my mind works the same way it used to."

            "Oh, changes like that."  Gadess understood. "Well, lots of things have happened since we first started working together.  You can't expect yourself not to change."

            "But I don't like the change, Gadess."  He interrupted.  "I don't like this person I've become.  I'm not sure if I even recognize myself."  Gadess opened his mouth to offer support but Allen continued to bear his soul. "Amano and I are supposed to be the same person and I recognize him as someone I could be… or once was… but we are so different.  I don't know what I've done wrong to end up so much worse than he…"

            "Allen!"  Gadess grabbed his shoulder and stopped him, turning him around so that they faced each other on the landing.  Gadess narrowed his eyes, his dark eyebrows growing level.  This was a look Allen had rarely seen on his face – a look lacking in all but utter seriousness.  "Don't regret yourself."  The blond took a double take at the command, his mouth falling open.  Gadess continued.  "You're a good man and you have a good heart, but you'll lose that if you start to regret yourself.  You can't help all that's happened in the past, that's something everyone has to face.  Amano's younger than you are, you can't mistake youth and inexperience for one man being better than another.  You've just got to be as true as you can to who you, uniquely you, are.  You can control what you do today, that's the gist of life, and you can be who and what you want to be or fate wants you to be or whatever, but you can't live in the past.  If you do that, you've lost every chance of making the future worthwhile.  That's the way you've got to see things."

            Allen paused, amazed.

            The sergeant let the knight go and stepped back.  "It'll be a sad day the day you lose who you are inside all your baggage, Boss, and I hope I'm not alive to see it.  Come on, everyone has probably finished by now."

            Allen tarried, glued to that spot as he watched Gadess turn the corner toward the bridge.  He had to stop and consider what he'd heard, a speech with more meaning than he was expecting from a crewman.  'Gadess believes in me'.  Allen bowed his head again, his eyes staring at nothing.  'He even prizes me.  He's seen me through Millerna, Hitomi, Celena and now Yukari… perhaps I'm being selfish.  I'm focusing all my attention on the wrong things.' He started walking slowly around the corner and down the long hallway.  'Perhaps there's nothing wrong with me at all…' he refocused his blue eyes as he approached the door to the cockpit, 'but then perhaps there still is something wrong – and I just have to get over it.'

            When he entered everyone was waiting, including Celena, who leapt up at the sight of him.  "Big Brother!"  She dashed over and hugged him around the chest, smiling broadly.  It took a second for him to realize that it was him that she was so happy to see, and recalled that she hadn't really seen him since the meeting the night before when he left in less than a satisfactory mood.  He smiled a little to see how much she cared, then bent to see her blue eyes staring to him.

            "Celena, how are you doing?"

            "I'm alright, Allen!"  She replied.  "I was worried about you."

            "You don't have to be worried."  He answered.  "I'm alright.  You never have to worry about me, okay?  I'll always be here for you."

            Celena beamed with radiance, then glanced back to where she'd been sitting.  "Suru and I have been playing!  Do you want to play with us?"  

            Allen laughed a little to himself, thinking what he'd look like playing dolls with a couple little girls then scanned the room and found the rest of the party standing inanimately.  Gadess was hovering over by them speaking with Daiji and Dryden in hushed chords.  He glanced up to Allen who noticed that none of them seemed relaxed, the Dryden doubles, Hitomi, Amano, Yukari, the Millerna doubles, the cat doubles and the Van doubles all seemed as anxious as Gadess, who excused himself to go check on the bridge again.  Allen realized that it was only the blissfully innocent who could be entertained in this room.  "No, Celena, I have work.  Maybe later."

            "Okay."  His sister agreed and she pranced of to Suru to resume their games.

            Van let out a growl and got up from next to Hitomi, pacing down the isle in between them and the Dryden group like a lion in a cage.  He spotted Allen with an impatient look and stomped over to speak hoarsely with him.  "Where have you been?"

            "I was preoccupied."  Allen answered in a similar tone.  "What's happened?"

            "Reeden and some guy of Dryden's have gone to spy on the palace."  Van answered, frowning deeply, "They've taken forever.  They're supposed to tell us whether it's safe to go or not when they get back."  His brown eyes flared. "This is pointless!  Zaibach started everything.  The only reason we should even be here is to stop them, why send spies at all!?!"

            "You forget that Eries has control of this country."  Allen informed him.  "She would have nothing to do with war."

            "Its obvious."  Van stated with undeterred conviction.  "It's happening again."

            Hitomi was feeling antsy, playing with the hem of her skirt and looking up to the others in the room incessantly.  "What do you think is taking them so long?"

            Jiai's aqua eyes were very large as she received flash insight.  "Did they get caught!?"

            "Don't say that!" Hitomi cried.  "If they did, it would be my fault!"

            "Hitomi, it wouldn't be your fault."  Yosu assured her.  "We decided on this together and the two of them volunteered.  There is no way it could be your fault."

            "Yosu – " Hitomi's voice held a sense of relief.  The orange-haired young man put his hand on her shoulder.  Van's eyes flared.  

            "Yeah, stop blaming yourself, Hitomi."  Koneko instructed.  "You always blame yourself and it's never your fault at all."

            "That's not true."  She said, solemnly.  Yosu sat down next to her and, in doing so, laced his arm around her back.  His double began to boil like hot tar, his eyes ablaze with a jealousy that was only aggravated when Hitomi showed no adverse reaction to the arm, whatsoever.  This had been going on for far too long, and in the expectant energy of the air, the king reached his breaking point.  He stormed away from Allen and tore Yosu up out of his seat.  The 16-year-old stumbled back and regained his balance facing the fuming draconian with outrage to match his.

            "Hey!"

            "Keep away from her!"  Van snarled.  "Stay away from Hitomi!"

            "Van!"  The girl cried, her hand flying up to her pendant.  "Van!?!"

            "Why should I!?!"  Yosu snapped back.

            "She's MINE!"  Van yelled protectively.  "Only I can touch her!"

            Merle sprung up. "Lord Van!"

            Allen stepped forward to intervene.  "Van, calm down.  Don't do anything rash."

            Van was focused intently and utterly on Yosu, one fist clenching tightly and his arm shaking with fever.  "You know that she's mine.  Who do you think you are trying to take her away from me!"

            "You don't possess her like some territory or royal annex or something!"  Yosu spat at him.  "She can make up her mind by herself who she wants touching her!  What makes you the 'be all and end all'!?!"

            Koneko joined Merle, stepping a bit in front of her.  "Yosu!!!"

            "Van! Yosu!"  Dryden tried to interrupt. "You're the same person!  Cool it!  You don't need to be fighting like this!"

            There was no swaying the combatants once the prize had been set.  Van heard no reason, wound up and punched Yosu across the face.  Koneko screamed.  The orange-haired man staggered, his cheek hot and tingling, then turned an explosive rage on Van.  He leapt for the attack and the two of them began a territorial civil war, a mutual mortal combat with the ferocity of two dragons with teeth, claws, and flame.  Hitomi jumped up in time to have her chair kicked aside and covered her face in horror, her green eyes peering through her fingers.  "No!  Van!  Stop please!"

            Merle let out a pitiful call.  "Lord Van!"

            "Get 'em apart!"  Daiji called, diving in and grabbing Yosu across the chest.   Amano and Yukari joined him by grabbing limbs and stringing their fellow Earther up.  Allen grabbed Van's arm but the king thrashed free.  He shoved Dryden aside with a full swing and advanced on his captured double who was struggling like a madman.  Daiji grabbed his forehead, trying to hold him at arms length but was rewarded by a quick and defensive twist job that made his wrist pop loudly.  "Yeow!  Not cool!"

            "Hey!"  Dryden yelled. "That's enough!"

            "Would you two cut it out!?!"  Yukari seconded.

            Jiai called over the clamor.  "Let him go, Daiji!  Don't get yourself hurt!"

            Koneko cried out on her toes.  "Yosu!"  

Merle grabbed her arm.  "Come on!"  The cat bounded over to where Allen and Dryden were being kept successfully at bay and leapt on Van in a feline pounce, hanging off his neck and down his back.  Koneko jumped in between the King and her people with her arms flung wide in a way he found familiar.  He froze long enough to get each arm firmly bound by the two Gaeans behind him.  Merle twisted her legs around his thighs to keep him pinned.  The room was frozen in the moment.           

Koneko broke the silence.  "The two of you shouldn't be fighting!  What's wrong with you!?!"

            "We're all friends!"  Merle added from Van's ear.  "We should get along!"

            Koneko let her arms drop and turned her amber eyes to first Van and then her brother.  "It's the waiting.  The waiting has us all uneasy!  We all need to take a deep breath and calm down!  Relax!  What's the use in punching each other, its not going to bring them back any faster!"

            Merle nodded pointedly.  "That's right!"

            Van's mind warped back into focus and he unclenched his muscles, Allen and Dryden dropped his arms.  Merle came down and around to face him.  He felt ashamed as he looked into her eyes.  Daiji put Yosu down, Amano and his girlfriend letting go as well.  He crossed his arms, one eye beginning to swell.  Hitomi was biting her fingers as she surveyed the two, their identically brown eyes sharing two different emotions; shame and bitterness, it was like mixing hot and cold water.  The king sighed to release some of his coiled aggression and wiped blood from a split lip.  "They're right."  He turned steely as he addressed his double.  "The waiting is making us restless.  We're on our last nerve."  He then looked to the girl standing nearby in shock. "I'm sorry, Hitomi."

            She did not find this comforting, but instead she was more strongly repelled, the words seemed superficial with the emotional images she was receiving from each of them.  The blood on their faces and the memories of the twisted malice she'd seen in them moments before made her nauseous and dizzy.  In a blink she'd decided that she couldn't stand any more and, throwing her hands back over her eyes, darted from the room.  She brushed past Allen as she ran for her quarters. The knight whirled around.  "Hitomi!?"

            Millerna started after her but stopped, second-guessing.  "Oh, Hitomi…"

            Yosu and Van were both ashamed now, a deep and self-loathing shame that drew them into separate corners to brood.  Daiji and Dryden reclaimed their place by the window with Jiai, the referee massaging his wrist with his other hand.  Dryden addressed him. "You alright?"

            "I think so, It's not broken or anything."  He tried rotating it but returned to rubbing. "I think he pulled something though, I've done it a couple times in weight-training, if I wrap it it'll be okay."

            Dryden sighed and Jiai seemed greatly relieved.  "Good!"  But suddenly become rosy at his glance.

            Amano noticed and looked to Yukari who shook her head, instructing him not to mention it.  He returned to gazing out the window, keeping the watch.  Celena and Suru continued to play on the floor, neither truly noticing that anything had happened at all.  Suddenly the 17-year-old spotted three figures sneaking out from the alleys of the city.  He recognized them instantly and let out an excited cry that make everyone else jump.  "Hey!  It's them!"  The rest of them mobbed at the window to confirm.  Amano took Yukari up under one arm, then suddenly took a double take.  "Hey, what's Hakai doing down there?"

"Someone go run and tell Gadess that they're back."  Daiji called.  

"I'll go!"  Merle volunteered.  Koneko followed her, ecstatic.

Millerna grabbed Dryden's arm with an excited squeal. "Let's hurry and see what they say!"  The rest thought it was a good idea and headed down to the gangplank on one of the lower floors.  Gadess and the cats were waiting, having taken a more direct route, and were opening the hatch for the three scouts.  Reeden, Llave, and Hakai dashed up, stopping just inside, panting.  Llave collapsed to his knees in relief.  Reeden spotted Allen among the crowd.  "Boss!  It's insane sneaking around out there!  From the time we left at lunch to now the place is crawling with security!"

            Van crossed his arms.  "See?  I predicted this from the start.  They're the ones making war."

            Llave looked up to Dryden.  "They are just now mounting forces, sir, we got to see the perimeter being formed while we were waiting at the wall.  They are emptying the barracks and it looks like they suspect that THEY are under attack."

            "They probably do."  Dryden responded.  "More than likely they've heard of what's happened in the other countries.  News of a missing queen and king, especially after a fight like there was in Fanelia, would prompt such a response."

            "Or they could have caused both and are getting ready to strike Egzardia or Fried next!"  Van insisted.

            Allen turned sharply.  "Fried?"

            "You're jumping to conclusions."  Yukari told him.  

            Hakai was looking devious, sniggering to himself.  Amano turned a critical eye on him.  "What are you sniveling about?"

            "I could tell you some important stuff."  He replied with a mischievous sneer.  "REAL important stuff.  Stuff only people who snuck all the way inside the palace would know…"

            "You went INSIDE!?!"  Amano cried.

            "You bet he did!"  Reeden cried.  "We had to chase him in, it was a royal mess!"

            "You weren't supposed to go inside!"  Dryden cried.  "That wasn't smart."

            "I knew you'd be mad, sir, but we had to chase him."  Llave appealed.  "We couldn't leave him in there, he's a member of our party."

            He crossed his arms.  "I suppose.  What was he doing along for the trip anyway."

            "He snuck up on us."  Reeden replied.  "I still say we should have left him."

            "What kind of information do you have, Hakai?"  Yukari asked.  "If it's so important you need to tell us."

            Hakai weighed the options visibly with a certain amount of cock.  "Hmn… Should I?  Shouldn't I?"

            "Spit it out!"  Amano shouted.

            "Tell us, Hakai."  Suru pleaded.  "Its probably very important."

            "Su," Hakai leveled to her, "you gotta learn stuff.  Its not like I get any benefits around here, the only way you get any power is if you learn to make deals.  If I just out and tell 'em what I know I won't even get a 'thank you' but if I ask for a price, then they've got no choice but to pay up.  That's the way it works."

            Suru looked up to Celena then back to him.  "But you could be nice."  He snorted.

            Amano put his hands on his hips.  "Okay, what do you want?"

            Allen grabbed his shoulder in outrage.  "What are you doing!?"

            "Let me handle this, Allen."  Amano snapped, brushing his hand off and turning back to Hakai.  "What's your offer?"

            "Hmn…. Lessee…" Hakai bated in mock deliberation, enjoying the look of exasperation on their faces.

            Amano reached to smack him in the head.  "Stop messing around!  Name your price if you're gonna name one!"

            Hakai ducked out of the way and frowned at him.  "I want my matches back!"

            Yukari gasped.  "Don't do it Amano!"

            "If his information is as important as he says we can't afford to pass it up."  Amano replied.

            "Well… offer him red meat or something."  Yukari suggested.  "But don't give him those matches back, he'll be hell-born with those!"

            Hakai sniggered wickedly.  Amano sighed and turned to him.  "Okay, you win.  Tell us what you know and I'll give you your matches."  Yukari put her head down in his arm.

            Hakai's hands started twitching. "Wicked!"  He let out a maniacal laugh that made the others feel like a monster had just been put loose.  

            Van and Yosu both narrowed their eyes at him, Yosu because he remembered how much he hated Hakai from Tae Kwon Do lessons with him, and Van because he had been reminded of someone else whom he hated.  The King bared a fang and snapped.  "Out with it already!"

            Hakai spoke importantly in a victorious tone.  "Well, while I was sneaking around inside the palace, I found a really fancy doorway with black walls and torches and stuff…"

            "That's the throne room."  Millerna recalled.  "I remember from Eries's wedding, we got to see the palace."

            "He got in all the way to the throne room!?"  Jiai cried.

            "Uh, talking!" Hakai redirected.  He kept telling with a little more irritation.  "There was a dude there with guys dressed like those dead soldier dudes standing around him.  He was really wussy looking with a lot of heavy clothes on and he talked to himself the whole time like a baby."

            "Lyse."  Millerna confirmed.  "It fits King Zaibach to a tee."

            "He got to the KING!?"  Jiai cried again.

            "What was he talking about, Hakai?"  Amano asked.

            "I was getting to that!"  The boy shouted.  "He was talking about how some 'resistance' or something were coming and that he'd had the whole place filled up with guards so that some lady would be safe.  He was mumbling about how she was worried about Asturia.  That's the place we took off from right?  I thought it was.  He was a total loser and was all griping about how bad he was at being king."

            "He was talking about Eries."  Millerna announced, with fervor.  "He's flooded the palace with guards to protect her!  He must have heard about what happened in Asturia and is afraid that the same thing is happening here."

            "That's what we thought wasn't it?"  Daiji asked.

            "He doesn't really sound bold enough to go to war." Yukari surmised.  "He barely sounds confident enough to make decisions for his own country."

            "I'm starting to seriously doubt the 'Zaibach is in charge of the war' hypothesis."  Dryden voiced.

            "But sir!"  Llave called.  "Those melefs were there.  The Maginot!  Reeden said that they were the same ones that attacked our ship yesterday!"

            "They what!?"  Dryden cried.  "The same ones?  Here?  Now?"  He seemed a little shaken.  Millerna was too far away to reach him, but stared longingly over Jiai's head as Daiji put a hand on his shoulder.  Allen charged forward to take control.

            "The Maginot who just engaged us – the same ones who attacked Fanelia and  Chesario and have been following us for days – they're here now!?"

            "Yeah boss!"  Reeden answered.  "We saw three of 'em."

            "They must have just gotten here."  Gadess figured.  "Probably about the same time we did."

            "Are they arriving or returning?"  Yukari asked.

            "They are Asturian melefs."  Allen announced.

            "But there are Zaibachian soldiers driving them."  Yosu noted.  "Maybe they were stolen."

            "Or it's possible that they didn't originate from Zaibach directly."  Dryden suggested. 

"A detachment?"  Allen inquired.

Dryden nodded.  "That's what it would seem. "If they came from the north, they could have gotten their hands on some Asturian melefs across the border, but Zaibach as a country has the strongest Melef army in Gaea.  Its not typical for them to opt for foreign models."

            "But the those Maginot were in Asturia when we were there."  Jiai reported.  "They and the green melef chased us out." 

            "That's right."  Allen recalled.  "So are they directly Asturian taken over by Zaibachian soldiers or are they Asturian soldiers defecting to Zaibach?"

            "Or are they defects of everywhere?"  Amano asked.  "Just because they wear Zaibach uniforms doesn't mean that they are loyal to Zaibach.  We are talking about a resistance, maybe it's made up of people from all over – Asturia, Zaibach, even Fanelia."

            "Not Fanelia."  Van stated, sharply.  "No one from Fanelia would destroy their own country!  We've got more pride than that."

            Some moved to protest but Millerna interrupted.  "Well, some would in Zaibach.  Not everyone is happy with their new king.  Even you, Van, know that many living here are still loyal to the Dornkirk regime, especially those who were previously in executive positions."

            "But Zaibach is Germany!"  Yosu stuck.  "Its obvious that they're behind it, the details don't matter!"

            "We don't know that for sure."  Daiji told him.  "It's a good hypothesis, but there's no way to know if the pattern of wars and countries has been copied exactly.  A theory's just a theory, we can't make all our judgments on an educated guess."

            "That was hypocritical of you."  Van shot him.  "This whole adventure has been based on an educated guess.  Nothing we do is really supported by fact!"

            "Right back at you!"  Daiji responded.  "We're here because you are positive that the enemies we were fighting on this ship were Zaibachian and Draconian.  Checking it out was not a guess… it was strategy!"

            "Don't fight you guys."  Jiai bade. 

            Allen took this opportunity to set the train on track again.  "Whatever their purpose, Zaibach seems to be on the alert whether against the rest of the world or against themselves."

            "Are you suggesting that Eries and Lyse might not even know that the Maginot are a threat to them?"  Millerna asked.

            Jiai sounded concerned.  "We can't just leave and let them have their feet cut out from beneath them!  That's awful!."            

            "With that many guards and soldiers mounting we can't stick around long."  Dryden resolved.  

            Millerna started to panic and reached out for Allen's arm. "I have to talk to Eries!  I have to warn her of the danger!"

            "But she might be the cause of it."  Amano objected.

            "Then I need to find that out!"  Millerna cried.  "If she did start it, I want to know why, and perhaps she can tell us about Haman and Seguir – the betrayal of the Asturian court – I don't think she would attack her own home if she had a choice.  Maybe she's being held prisoner!  The Maginot originated from Asturia after all, maybe she needs our help!"

            Allen appealed to her. "Millerna, you can't!  It's not safe.  We should leave here as soon as possible."

            "How can you say that!?"  Millerna cried frantically.  "How can you abandon Eries like that, you two are practically family!  I refuse to leave her when I can help her."

            "We should at least try and do something."  Dryden agreed.  Van and Yosu cast him a spiteful glance.  "It seems like this is a hotspot, there is an opportunity to learn something about who is looking for us." 

            Allen prepared to mount a protest but Amano agreed with Dryden and caused his double to stall.  "But how do we do that?"

            "I want to talk to Eries!"  Millerna announced.

            Every head turned to her.  "WHAT!?!"

            "I want to speak to her!"  Millerna insisted.  "She's my sister, I know her.  She's a stoic and the only way I'll know if she's really behind this or not is if I speak to her."

            "They're looking for you, Millerna!"  Van shouted.  "When they see you, they'll capture you in a second!"

            "I'll wear a disguise!"  She defended.  "All of you have done this before!  We'll wear disguises and sneak in undetected!"

            "Will they be expecting that?"  Jiai asked.  "Since they half expect a resistance group to attack them as it is?"

            "Its impossible!"  Reeden told her.

            Millerna pointed to the boy next to him.  "But Hakai got in!"

            "She's right."  Llave said, cheerily.  "So its not impossible."

            Reeden snarled.  "Shut up!"

"Heyo!  Don't look at me!"  Hakai cried.  "I just ran around, don't think I actually knew where I was going!  I can't get you all in like a frickin' secret agent!"

            "But you might remember."  Millerna pressed.  "There's got to be a way to get me inside!  I'm telling you, I have to speak to Eries!"

            "This is insane!"  Allen stated, pointedly.  "It's too dangerous!  You can't go, I forbid it!"

            Millerna bit down on her resolve like a mouth-guard and turned her offended eyes from the knight to the merchant.  "I have to go!  You understand, don't you?  She's my sister and I have to know if this is all her doing.  And if it isn't, then it's my duty to warn her about this threat that is currently at her doorstep!"  Dryden put a hand to his unshaven chin.  Millerna's big blue eyes were begging him from the depths of her very soul.  Allen was expecting a strict refusal, but Dryden answered instead with a question.

            "You realize the danger right?  And this still means so much to you that you would risk sneaking into a heavily guarded palace?"

            She nodded fervently.

            Allen took a start.  "You aren't considering letting her go!"

            "If that's what she feels has to be done, she's an adult and I'm not her master."  Dryden replied.  "I can advise against it, but if she's not going to deter, then I'll do my best to make it happen."

            "How can you say you love her and let her try and pull this off!?!"  Allen accused.

            "I consider her feelings and her freedoms!"  Dryden spat back, defensively.  "I might ask you the same question regarding your controlling behavior, Allen Schezar.  If you have a problem, then deal with it!  I'm going to give it a shot."

            Millerna was all smiles.  "Dryden thank you!"

            Gadess was thinking as well.  "If we do get inside, it will give us a chance to get the low-down on the situation from a Zaibach standpoint and answer a lot of our really important questions."

            "Gadess!?!"  Allen shouted, appalled.

            His first officer stepped backward into the wall.  "Sorry Boss, just looking at both sides!"

            "But he is right, you know."  Yukari lectured in the sergeant's defense.  "We do need to know where Zaibach stands in all of this before we make any other moves.  We could make huge consequential mistakes if we assume to much at this stage, and our information so far is pretty sketchy."

            Allen was nearly chalk-white with the sensation of falling down a hole.

            "Hey and…"  Daiji added with an excited twinge of inspiration, "If Zaibach is not responsible, then we've got the opportunity to stop another hostile takeover like we've seen in other places!"

            "And what if they already are taken over?"  Van asked.

            Yosu added his thoughts in a string and voice that sounded it was all the same statement.  "Or Zaibach did cause the war afterall?  What then?"

            "Then we're already inside the heart of it."  Amano resolved.  "We could stop the whole thing right here and now if that's the case!  We'll take out the leader or sabotage the proceedings or something and stop the tank where it stands."

            Dryden mused.  "What better way to kill a weed than at the root?"

            Allen backed down, putting one hand to his face.  "Alright, alright, perhaps it IS worth an investigation, but haven't Reeden and Llave uncovered valuable information already?"

            "They've given us the break-down."  Daiji answered.  "We use what they've found to choose how we carry out the next step."

            "So we've decided then?"  Jiai asked.  "We're definitely going through with this?  We're getting Millerna into the palace?"

            Yukari actually clapped in excitement.  "Let's get to planning!"  Millerna beamed at her.  "Who goes?  Who stays?  Who'll lead and which way should we get in or get out?"

            "This doesn't need to be as detailed as our infiltration of Urthras."  Allen said.  "Not everyone needs to be involved.  We should probably send as few people as possible. Additionally, we do not need to actually remove Eries from the palace.  She needs to stay in control of her government if its peaceful and do with our warning what she sees fit."

            "What if we DO need to rescue her?"  Jiai asked.

            "We can't afford to try and smuggle her here and there."  Allen insisted.  "We don't have a friend on the inside like we did with Hoden in Fanelia.  Zaibach is larger and more heavily guarded than the palaces we've escaped from before.  Queen Zaibach has supreme power over her kingdom where Van did not.  I don't know if we could smuggle her out… it's going to take all we have available to us to get in."

            "So how many do go in?"  Yosu asked.  "Millerna is the reason for the whole thing, she has to go.  Who else?  Van and Allen to protect her should there be a negative outcome?"

            "I think we need Allen and Van to keep a watch on those melefs."  Dryden asserted.

            Van was obviously against that idea.  "Then who goes in with Millerna?  Are you suggesting that you will?"

            Dryden smirked. "Oh gosh no."  Allen looked at him with distaste.  "I wouldn't do any good.  I wish I could take care of her, but I can barely defend myself in a one-on-one.  I am torn though.  I do want Allen and Van to go in with her because they're the most capable with a sword, but I'm also in charge of making sure all of you are safe since you're on my ship.  Millerna could be perfectly safe, but if we are all taken out by those Maginot, where will the three of them return to?  At the same time, what if something goes terribly wrong on the inside and they never return?  I'd hate myself.  The deciding question is which enemies are more dangerous?  The ones on the inside or the ones on the outside?"

            "Inside."  Allen huffed.

            "But without you and Van, we're all helpless against those melefs!"  Yukari appealed.

            Daiji had a solution.  "Then one goes in and one stays out."

            "I'm going in."  Allen announced to no ones surprise.  Millerna did, however, find the gravity and determination on his face was enough to take her off guard.

            "I'll go too."  Daiji volunteered.  He looked to Dryden.  "I got your back, man."

            "Is three good?"  Yosu asked.  He looked around.  "Should someone go get Hitomi?"

            "We'll go we'll go."  Koneko and Merle offered nearly dutifully.  "We always go get everybody!"

            Merle laughed as she scampered off.  "Its boring around here anyway."

            "Let's not do anything major until she gets here."  Amano resolved as the two cats left the room.  "She's important too, and I think she's got more emotion tied into this adventure than most of us do.  She'd want to be kept up to date on what's going on."

            "I do think it's the right thing to do."  Gadess added.  "Its crazy and risky, but from what I've seen here, I think it's for the best.  We're a group divided.  Yosu and Van are convinced, maybe not so much anymore, that Zaibach is behind everything that's happened so far.  I personally feel that Zaibach poses a threat…"

            "I agree."  Amano added. "They're a threat but not as large as Van and Yosu think, I don't think they're the ones that are taking over Gaea."

            "Nor are they behind the hunt for us."  Gadess continued.  "That's what I think.  I get the feeling that Zaibach is too small for all of this… or more like the offense is bigger than that.  Millerna and Dryden seem to feel like Zaibach is a victim and the rest of us have been trying to pick sides.  Getting inside and getting the truth is invaluable to any future action."

            "You are right."  Allen finally agreed. "I'd failed to look at the big picture.  This maneuver is very important.  Perhaps even the most pivotal task we've taken on yet.  We need to take the time to make this work."

            Dryden seemed satisfied.  "I wouldn't condone it if it wasn't important."

            Just then Merle and Koneko came in dragging Hitomi by each of her hands.  She looked miserable, but decidedly calmer, and took a deep breath when she got to the floor.  "Yes?"

            "We're going into the palace and trying to get some answers out of the queen."  Yukari told her.

            Hitomi was shocked at first, but sank down.  "If you think that's a good idea –"

            "You don't?"  Jiai asked.

            Hitomi tightened her shoulders around her neck.  "I don't want anyone getting hurt – "

            "It was my idea."  Millerna stated.  "The rest of them just agreed to let me do it."

            "Okay."  Hitomi agreed, exhausted of talking and planning.  "How did you agree to do it then?"

            "That's what we were waiting for you for."  Yukari said, gently.  "You don't have to participate really if you're not up to it, but we thought you'd like to be involved so you don't think we don't care about you."       

            Hitomi was relieved that they cared about her. "Thanks."

            "Well, then how are we going to get in?"  Daiji asked.

            "We have plenty of Zaibach uniforms."  Llave said, cheerily.  "From the casualties yesterday, and Reeden and I did make it in once before.  Of course we were chased out… but it can't be impossible."

            "We can take care of a disguise, but we need a proper guide."  Dryden determined. "Hakai is the best bet since he's been in all the way to the throne room although he claims he doesn't know how he did it."

            "Was it luck or talent?"  Jiai asked.

            "Or instinct."  Yukari suggested.

            "Or maybe…"  Amano stopped. "Something like that happened before to me.  When the Crusade was under attack, I found my way to the bridge automatically, been though I hadn't been there before.  I was just guided by my gut."

            "Same here."  Daiji agreed.  "I feel at home on this ship, and when I was trying to find Dryden in the helter skelter of yesterday I knew where I was going somehow even though consciously I'd never seen the place."

            "So now the connection helps people get around?"  Koneko asked.  Suru and Celena had come over to sit with them when they returned from their errand.  The pigtailed girl cocked her head.  "Hakai found his way through the palace because the whacked-out kid who's his double knows the place?"

            "Did Hakai's double spend a lot of time in Zaibach palace?"  Jiai asked.

            "Apparently so."  Van huffed, crossing his arms.

            "But we don't have Hakai's double here."  Yukari said.  "So no matter how well HE knew the place, we can't use him as a guide, just the inkling of him."

            "Its risky."  Dryden sighed.

            "The whole thing is risky."  Yosu spat.

            "I mean trusting you all to a guess."  Dryden clarified.  "Its bad enough that we have to go in at all, but if I had a choice, I wouldn't put a twelve-year-old boy who is, himself, not confident in his ability to sneak back in, in charge of escorting Millerna around a hostile palace."  Everyone agreed internally and looked at the floor.  It was true that most of them wished that they had a better plan.  "But we don't really have a choice."

            Allen was in conflict with himself.  His love for Millerna had resurfaced in the face of this impending danger, he was trying to fight a reckless nature in his heart and struggled to suppress a suggestion that he knew was the most concrete choice they had.  He finally lost.  "We have a choice."

            The party focused their many repeating eyes on the blond.  Allen's face twisted as if he was thinking of something that he detested.  The shadows contrasted darkly under his brow.  Hitomi was struck with a stomach-clenching realization.  She shot her quaking green eyes to the sixteen-year-old girl standing with the half-scorched wooden fox doll pressed to her heart.  The sight of the blackened face turned her panic on the knight.  "Allen, you can't!  It's not right!"

            "Hitomi," Allen growled, his teeth clenched. "I know.  I know hat it sounds like I'm doing.  You're right.  How could I ransom my own sister, but we have no other options."

            "We still have Hakai!"  Hitomi combated.

            "He's useless for this."  Allen said.  "If the future of everything rides on us getting into that palace, we should use everything in our hand to make it possible."

            "What's this about?"  Millerna asked, alarmed at this incredible 180 in Allen's behavior.

            Amano felt the heated blood in Allen's veins. "What are you saying!?"

            Allen looked up with a determination that seemed war stoked and relentless.  "Dilandau's here!  He will be our guide!"

            "Ahh!"  Celena's ears ran with the name.  She threw up her hands, Leptelepitos hitting the floor with a hollow thunk.

            Van gasped and stepped back.  "Dil – You mean Celena can change back!?!"

            "Change back!?"  Dryden cried.  "Change into what!?!"

            Hitomi looked at him quizzically for a second, then figured out his plight.  "Oh that's right, you weren't here when we found out.  Dornkirk turned Celena into Dilandau for his army."

            "He did what!?"  Dryden demanded.  "How is that possible?  Not science-?"

            "Atlantis."  Millerna said.  "Fate Redirection."

            Dryden grimaced.  "That's disgusting."

            "Celena's attacks of pain are the preliminary stages of the transformation."  Allen said, his shoulders moving in his white Asturian sleeves.  "I've tried to keep it from happening.  I can usually stop it but sometimes it's too strong. The will to divert back to that demon is too much for me to subdue by myself.  She changes."

            "Celena," Suru saw the girl drop to her knees, her face in her hands.  Suru got down next to her and put her hands on her double's shoulders.

            "Dilandau can and will lead us."  Allen said.  "I'll make him."

            "He won't listen to you!"  Hakai told him, authoritatively.  "He hates you!"  Allen scowled at the counterpart, pure malice radiating out of his blue eyes.  Hakai continued.  "I'll go with you guys.  He and I are connected.  We've got a mind thing going on.  He'll help us if I tell him he should."

            "Hakai did have a kind of power over Dilandau."  Hitomi recalled.            

            Van shot his eyes to her.  "When was this!?"        

            "The night before last."  Hitomi answered.  "She changed very late, and it took Suru to bring her back."

            "The connection."  Amano surmised.  "The twins are two sides of the same person."

            "Perhaps this will work."  Dryden reasoned.  "Celena won't know what's happening will she?  When she is changed, she doesn't know what's going on right?  And Suru can bring her back."        

            "That's true."  Allen answered.

            Millerna sat down on her knees next to the 16-year-old girl.  "Celena, would you please help us?"

            "I'm scared."  She whimpered.  "He wants out!  He wants-"

            "He!?!"  Yosu cried.

            "I want him to come."  She said finally, gasping.  "When I hold back- it hurts!  He wants to come so badly!  Is he – is he hurting like me!?  I don't want to go back to the dark again, I don't want to go back!  I'm scared what will happen while I'm gone.  How long?  How long?  The last time… I came back a lady.  What will change when I come back the next time?  Will I be changed?  Will Allen still be here with me?  Or Suru?  Will any of you?"  She shuddered. "Ahh!  It hurts!"

            "We'll bring you back as soon as we can!"  Millerna promised.  "We won't forget you.  Your friends and family want you back more than anything."

            She looked up, her blue eyes constricted tightly.  "I believe you."  She took a deep breath, her pupils relaxing and looking to Allen.  "I love you, Big Brother.  I'm okay to do what you want."

            Allen looked like he was about to cry, all the anger and difficulty he'd faced in the decision now turned on himself.  How could he have brought his sister into this plan too, when all that he loved was already involved and she could have hidden and been safe.  But Celena was already being helped off the floor and out of the room.  She had spoken of the 'he' like Dilandau was there in her head.  What sort of horrors existed behind her large, innocent blue eyes that he had never seen or heard?  The moment was suspended in dread and suffering for them both.  Or perhaps all three; the brother, the sister, and the symbiance. 

*                           Escaflowne                              *

            "Here's the deal."  Resultant instructed Areolar.  "Your sister is the target.  We both know that Virial has the hots for her.  No matter how set he is in his job, if she's in trouble, he'll come and save her."

            "I don't like that."  Areolar protested.  "I don't want Torsion in danger, that's the point of this."

            "You gotta give and take."  Resultant said, dispassionately.  "I'll be the one handling her whole "ordeal" trust me if you would."

            "You're sure he'll come?"  Areolar said, miffed. "He'll come if she's in trouble?"

            "Once he sees that she can't defend herself, I'm positive he'll come."

            "You're not threatening Torsion's life are you?"  Areolar flared, his brown eyes burning.  "If you are, I swear I'll kill you!"

            "Why would I kill her!?!"  Resultant shot back, then approached again, calmer.  "I'll make sure she's fine, okay?  I'm confident in my skills.  Nothing's going to happen to her that's my fault, and I'll make sure nothing happens to her that's his fault.  That's the reason I came to you after all."

            "When did you plan to pull this off?"  Areolar asked.

            "We're supposed to be doing tours of the city in search of Nadeje and Atlantis.  We'll all be in melefs and spread out around the city then.  It would be a good time to attack."

            "So you attack Torsion and – " 

            "And you get a sword in Virial when he's distracted."

            Areolar leveled his eyebrows critically at him.  "That's your plan?"

            "What's wrong with it?"  Resultant inquired bitterly.

            "You did this impulsively didn't you?"  Areolar observed crossing his arms.  "Something happened that made you homicidal.  What?  Torsion reject you again?" 

            "Shut your face."  Resultant spat, rawly.  "That's not anything that – its not important why I decided to, the point is that we're killing Virial and that's that."

            "You'd better watch your back."  Areolar advised. "I don't think you deserve Torsion either.  If you don't watch your motives, you might be next on my list."

            "Its not professional of you to threaten your conspirator."  Resultant replied, staring through his spider-like red bangs.  "We're supposed to be heading out on the search right away.  Are you with me or not?"

            "I'm with you."  Areolar said.  "But I'll do it my own way.  You just get Virial distracted and I'll take care of his death."

            "I want my sword bloody."  Resultant said. "I want my revenge!"

            "Whatever."  Areolar responded.  The other captain turned and headed back to his parked Maginot, kneeling in the open hangar.  Areolar scowled, a sincere distaste in his mouth as he stared at the retreating back, his right fist was hungry for his sword and his sword for the spot just between Resultant's shoulder blades. 

*                           Escaflowne                              *

            Celena was dressed in a Zaibach uniform – a black body piece and blue-violet shoulder casements with matching boots.  She seemed nervous as Jiai and Yukari strapped her into it.  Suru was feeling her anxiety and shifted weight from foot to foot.  Hakai watched in anticipation.  Allen was inching away a bit at a time, wanting to resign to a far corner or find a hole to hide in.  He was still gnawing himself for volunteering her, but Amano was the one who spoke his mind. "I dunno about this guys, I'm having second thoughts."

            "Second thoughts?"  Millerna asked.  "What do you mean?"

            "I know this is what we agreed on, but I feel bad putting Celena through this."  Amano clarified.  

            Hitomi bowed her head. "I see what you mean.

            "I guess its not too late to reconsider."  Millerna noted, sounding discouraged.

            Dryden dropped his shoulders a little, wearing a face as if he expected this to happen. "It's not, but then we'd be back to plan A.  Plus Celena did agree to do it.  She said it only hurts when she resists, so logically, if she relaxes it should be relatively easy."  He squared back up and looked around.  "Logically."

            "I hope you're right."  Jiai sighed.  She jiggled the final clasp and found it secure.  Then she stepped away.  "Okay, she's all set."

            "Let's get this over with."  Van huffed.

            There was a silent agreement and a circle formed around the girl.  Celena trembled a little, then took a deep breath and looked to the crowd.  "I'm okay."  She swallowed a lump in her throat.  "I'm afraid, but, I'll just remember what you promised."  Millerna and the others nodded to her.  "Everything will be alright, and I'll be back soon."  She clasped her hands in front of her.  "Goodbye everyone." Her large blue eyes, blue for only a little longer, turned on Allen in the back.  "Goodbye, I love you big brother."

            Allen died inside.

            Yukari turned to her boyfriend beside her.  It was ironic that the knight's double was to be the trigger for the transformation.  "Alright, Amano."

            He nodded and stepped toward his twelve-year-old cousin, reaching into his blazer.  "Okay, as promised – "  He lowered an industrial-sized box of matches down toward Hakai's itching hands.  " – but don't get too smart.  I can take them away again before you know it."

            "Yeah whatever."  Hakai snatched them quickly away and beamed in triumph.

            Hitomi was struck with the sudden realization that this was it, the spoke hurriedly to Celena. "Just relax, don't struggle!  Everything's going to be okay!"

            Koneko elbowed her in the side.  "Shh!"

            Hakai struck the first stick and stared as it ate down the wood to his fingers.  Celena flinched at the sudden smell that filled the air.  A constricted red eye darted to her.  "Yo, Dilandau!  I can see you in there!"  Celena's face twisted quickly, but tried to remain calm.  The blond held his match in front of her closed eyes.  "Can you see that?  It's awesome!  Its power in my hand!  You've had power in your hand before, you know what fire can do!  It can wipe out whole cities like that, and like that I can put this fire out.  That's power, Dilandau!  That's the power to control power!  You listening!?  I'll drag you outta there if I have to!  You're mine!"  Something was going on in the girl's head.  Through a placid sea, as sudden wrinkle and twitch, then the changes all began to happen at once.  Her skin paled and her hair stiffened.  Features that were uniquely Celena's melted and warped into elements singularly Dilandau's.  A scar opened like a slice down her face.  Her posture changed.  She held her weight differently.  The figure spoke, Celena's voice changed to the rash, biting sound of the boy.  He sneered.

            "You got nothin'.  I got power.  Oh yeah, I got power.  More power than you."  His eyes opened.  They were red.  He stared down at the flame before his face and closed his hand around it, smoke snaking up through his fingers.  "I got more than you."

            Hakai smirked with glee.

            Dilandau took a look around, his irises constricting when he recognized all the faces circling him.  "Whoa!?  Where am I?"

            "Relax, pal, it's cool."  Hakai assured, cocking his head to the group.  "They're with me."

            "Grr."  He looked menacingly at Van, who was snarling and Allen who was pallid.  "I don't like your company kid."

            Hitomi decided to open communication.  "Dilandau –"

            "You're the girl from the mystic moon."  He spat.  "I'm a prisoner right?  I don't know how I got here or how long its been but I'm gonna get out!  Zaibach is probably looking for me and when I get back, I'll lead 'em in and stomp you all!  The war's not over!"

            "Actually it is."  Dryden said, scratching his forehead.  "I'm afraid you've been out of the loop for about a half a year."

            "What!?"  Dilandau roared. "How's that!?"

            "Hard to explain."  Amano said.  "but trust us, your war is over."

            "I don't believe you."  Dilandau answered.

            "You have no choice!"  Van snapped.

            Hitomi stayed him.  "Calm down.  He's with us now."

            "Who says!?" The albino demanded. "I never agreed to anything.  I won't be buddy-buddy with Van or Schezar.  Not on your life!"

            "You don't have to be."  Yukari told him.  "I'm honest when I say that all we want from you is a favor then you don't have to deal with us anymore."

            "Favor?"  Dilandau scoffed. "What do I look like?"

            "A prisoner."  Yosu snuffed.

            "No, no, he's not a prisoner."  Suru said in Dilandau's defense.  The party was stunned by this the new arrival especially.  He scanned her up and down.

            "Who's this?"

            "She's my sister."  Hakai told him.

            "Your sister..."  He rubbed two fingers into the nape of his neck.  "hmm…"

            "She's right." Koneko joined in, coming into the center of the circle.  "He's not a prisoner.  If we're not nice to him, how can we expect him to do anything for us?"

            Merle conformed to Koneko's example.  "Sure he's a jerk, but even jerks are people I guess."  She got a shifty idea and her blue eyes scanned the group with a pinch of mischievousness.  "You guys take care of getting' details and stuff ironed out.  We'll look after pasty-boy."

            "You'll what!?!" Van cried.

            "What'd you call me!?"  Dilandau raged. "I'll kill you for that!"

            Koneko waved him off.  "Empty threats.  If you're like Hakai, you'll be a pushover."

            "Hey!"  Hakai snapped, defensively.

            "Merle!"  Van insisted. "I don't want you associating with him.  He's dangerous!"

            "You take care of Hitomi, okay Lord Van?"  Merle said, assuredly. "Sine I can't be your girlfriend, I gotta learn to take care of myself.  If he gets outta hand, I'll scratch 'im, deal?"  The three girls shoved Dilandau out of the circle and toward the door.  He struggled the whole way.

            "Hey!  I'm not going anywhere I don't fricken want to!"

            "Move it buster!"  Koneko said, employing a British policeman accent.  "Hoof it!"

            Hakai watched his double being escorted away with shock.  "Hey!  No fair!  He's my friend!  You got Celena, Dilandau's MINE!"  He dashed after them, Suru following closely, leaving the rest of them to exchange stupefied glances and blinking dazedly.  The children stopped in a different room made for inventory and shut the door behind them.  A crate was by the wall and they set Dilandau down on it.  He fumed, crossing his arms, the whites of his eyes turning pink.  

            "Who do you think you are?  I'm not someone you can shove around.  I could murder all of you before you even knew what hit you."

            "Why are you so fixated with death?"  Koneko asked. "I'm sure it's not healthy.  Not good for making friends for sure."

            "I don't need friends."  He said, but the Dragonslayers came to mind and he flinched.  The deaths of all of his compatriots were what began his fluctuation between Celena and himself.  He got oddly quiet, pressing his lips in discomfort.  

Merle let out a triumphant laugh.  "Ha Ha!  You just proved yourself wrong!"

            "What do you want with me?"  Dilandau asked, gruffly.

            Suru poked her head into the conversation.  "Why are you sad?"

            "What?"  Dilandau's patience was waxing thinly.

            "You seem sad."  Suru peeped.  "Celena was sad too."

            The sound of his alter ego's double saying her name stabbed into his head.  He jumped.  "Ack!  Sadness is weakness.  I'm not sad."

            "Lying is bad."  Suru said innocently.

            "Shut up!"  Dilandau raged.

            "Yo, leave my sister alone."  Hakai snarled.  "I can hurt you you know." 

            "Who ARE you?" Dilandau demanded of him.

            "My name is Hakai."  He replied.  "Remember from the other night?  We're doubles.  That means you're me and I'm you."

            "What the fricken heck -!?  What?"

            "We're doubles."  Merle said, pulling Koneko close so that he could see the similarity.  "Means were the same person from two different worlds.  Here and the Mystic Moon."

            "So you're me from there."  Dilandau clarified.

            "Right."  Hakai confirmed.

            Dilandau pouted in thought.  "When'd this happen?"

            Suru answered him. "We just got here.  We've been here a week."

            Dilandau crossed his arms as he realized that her response fell short of answering his question.  He took a minute to think and scan the crowd, this time with a more studious and less critical eye.  He sized up each member; their personality and appearance.  Hakai seemed like a peer, letting the double thing make a little sense, and Suru for some reason seemed remarkably trustworthy.  He closed his eyes after his analysis.  "It really has been six months hasn't it?"

            Merle nodded.  "yeah, it has."

            "And the war really ended."

            The cat girl answered affirmatively.  "You lost, yes."

            "Grr."  He cast his eyes to her and then to the floor.  "I hate losing.  I hate being on the losing side."

            "But you're not anymore!"  Koneko said, cheerily. "You're with us!  You're on the winning side now!"

            "That doesn't count!"  Dilandau snapped.  "Just switching sides doesn't make you a winner."

            "You get another chance now."  Hakai said.  "We're fighting again."

            "We are!?"  Dilandau urged.  "Is that what that girl back there was asking me about – a favor?"

            "Yeah."  Koneko answered.  "We need you to sneak us into the Zaibach castle so that we can talk to the Queen."

            "Queen?"  Dilandau asked, disgruntled.  "Then Dornkirk-"

            "Folken killed him."  Merle answered.

            Dilandau smiled cynically and laughed to himself.  "Folken…I guess he can do something right."  He looked up, professionally.  "Dornkirk didn't deserve all he got.  Some wrinkled old guy wanting to take over the world in his giant tank with his fancy machinery and crap.  To heck with that."  He seemed to show new interest in the situation.  "Who would I be sneaking in?"

            "Me, Daiji, Millerna, and Allen."  Hakai said. "Unless the bigshots have changed it when we get in there."

            "Allen Schezar…"  The boy growled.  "Oh well, better than Van.  Maybe I'll leave him behind."

            "So you will do it!?"  Suru asked, hopefully.

            "Why not?"  Dilandau asked.  "I got no side for this war yet.  After this crap is over maybe I'll pick one."

            Suru smiled sympathetically at him.  "You're not as bad as the others say you are, Dilandau."

*                           Escaflowne                              *

            Resultant had rejoined the group as they stood suited up in the melef hangar.  He was on good terms with none of them; Torsion was still angry from their conversation before, and Vector and Prestress regarding him suspiciously.  Around their feet, the other Draconian soldiers stood at attention.  They were awaiting Commander Virial's arrival so that they could commence search and seizure operations.  Prestress spoke across to Vector.  "The Commander is late.  Unlike him."

            "On the threshold of completing a mission that has plagued us for two days and several failures."  Vector agreed evasively.  "But I sense nothing wrong.  I do not think that he is late."

            "I trust your judgment."  Prestress said.

            "Shut up."  Torsion rebuked.  "When he gets here he gets here!"  Vector and Prestress looked at each other again.

            Resultant was plotting.  The four of them would split up with their individual squads of ground troops to search the city for Seguir Nadeje and his daughter Ayen.    They would each head out from this spot like six points of a star and cover a different section of the city.  It would be too suspicious for he and Torsion to appear in the same place at the same time unless he struck early, but Areolar was nowhere to be found.  All his burning , mutinous nature needed was to get his butt kicked by his intended victims.  Not to mention that he wanted to keep his position in the army so that he could retain a high level of reward when the revival of the Natural Order came.  He would have to wait until Nadeje was found, then he could strike Torsion in a battle with the Pravada and blame it on Nadeje.  He could blame Nadeje for Virial's death too if it works out.  Otherwise, he did have an accomplice to pin it on should he be reprimanded for this.  As these things began falling into place in his head, a giant hulked into view.  Read and powerful, the Dragon Oreides made everyone stop and stare. Most had been in service during the pervious war, a couple had even seen this monster in action under its previous master.  Their astonishment was doubled when their commander spoke out of it.  

            "Soldiers!  Today we search the city for a defect!  He has betrayed his godly blood and turned his back on our Master.  Find him!  He is Asturian with blond hair and green eyes.  His daughter carries something of great value to Trapan and the Master.  She is the center of all our hopes and dreams; the very cornerstone for building our new, unified world.  She is the Eyes' double.  Find these two and bring them back here!  Trapan orders that they are not to be harmed.  He wishes that privilege for himself."

            They all saluted.  "Yes sir!"

            Virial stepped closer, puffs of air sending wind from each crashing footstep.  He addressed his captains.  "Where is Areolar?"

            "He..uh.."  Resultant blurted.  "He is searching for a melef to use."  All of them cast him glances that made him feel his age.  Virial accepted his excuse with a grain of salt.

            "Then those assigned to the Captain strike out without him.  The rest, break and search your designated sections."

            "Yes sir."  The chorus came again.  The Captains in blue and white melefs turned and headed out of the hangar doors.  Trapan was a shadow watching from above.  He sneered himself into a grin as he saw the group move in rigid formation.  Torsion was the last of the Maginot to go, staring out into the street as the Red Dragon melef marched with its following soldiers into the city.  She wished with all her Draconian heart that she could see its pilot through the thick red metal armor.

            Resultant glanced back before leading his ground troops out of the palace grounds.  He watched her watch Virial with blue flame in his eyes, then narrowed them on his commander.  "That's a fine outer layer, Virial, but even a Dragon God in a Dragon Melef cannot escape what's coming to you.  Revenge is all I live for, don't think I'll pass up the opportunity."

To be continued…


	16. Episode 16: Bloodiness

Escaflowne:   Mirrors 

Episode 16:  Bloodiness

            Seguir            returned to the forsaken hotel a banner of triumph.  He uncovered his head as the door closed behind him and his golden blond hair shone strongly in the failing green lamplight which, by day, did not seem as sickly.  With his emerald eyes free to vision, he strode into the lobby area of the empty building searching for his daughter to tell her the good news.  "Ayen!?"

            "In here, Daddy!"  The call came from a door off to the side and near the back.  He cantered in and creaked the grubby wooden plank aside finding his fourteen-year-old girl wearing an apron and headscarf while washing dishes over a filthy sink.  She was a brilliant contrast to the grays and grimy blacks of her surroundings.  She turned her green eyes on him. "You sound happy!  It's good to see you back AND smiling!  I was worried when you left this morning that you'd be mugged or something.  I don't think I like it in Zaibach, weird men kept looking at me when I was working behind the bar.  I asked the mean guy if I could do dishes or something instead.  This place is better but it's really gross."

            "I'm sorry to put you through this."  Seguir said, compassionately.  "But I've got good news!  I found a job!  If I get up there fast enough tomorrow morning I'll have a paycheck and you won't have to work anymore."

            "That's excellent!"  She cheered.  "Things are working out after all!"

            "Let's not get our hopes too high."  Seguir warned.  "We're not secure yet, but we're getting there.  In a little bit we'll be able to afford our rent and some decent clothes and some better food.  Before long perhaps we could get our own apartment and move out of here.  For now we'll just be glad for what we have.  Here, I'll help you with those."  He got in beside her and helped her dry the chipped plates and mugs.

            Meanwhile, across the city Millerna, Daiji, Hakai and Allen were getting themselves into Zaibach uniforms.  The superior council had decided on a route and entrance according to Reeden and Llave's report while the others were speaking with Dilandau.  The new arrival was leaning with his arms and legs crossed and staring out the window at the city.  Yosu was standing nearby, watching.  The red-eyed young man laughed a little to himself.  It was a cocky, high-pitched nasal sound.  "The lousy thing is that the dump looks the same after loosing a war as it did when it was winning one."

            Yosu 'hmph'ed through his nose.  "So you're still loyal to Zaibach?"

            Dilandau moved his sharp eyes up to the orange-haired figure.  "You're Van aren't you?"

            Yosu narrowed his brown eyes.  "Yes."

            "I knew I didn't like you."  He said.  "No, for your information, I don't give a flying crap about Zaibach.  It was a place I once worked.  Actually, I was kind of a slave now that I think about it.  It's a lot like being here." He paused and sharpened his eyes, then turned back to the window.  "I don't care as much about your purpose or your opinions or your fricken ideals as I do about kicking some butt.  I'm cooperating because I can have some fun for now."

            "You're selfish."  Yosu spat.

            "You're annoying."  He replied.

            "Okay, we're ready."  Allen announced, adjusting his disguise.  He was completely changed, removed from his blue and white puffs and placed in the dark black and blue-violet of an enemy uniform.  His lengthy blond hair was tucked in the neck of his suit and a helmet was placed on top. 

Daiji appeared next to him tugging his neck.  "Ug, it's tight."

            "I'm getting nervous."  Millerna said, adjusting her male outfit.  "I don't feel comfortable."

            Jiai checked her over.  "Millerna, there's blonde hair coming out of your back."  She stepped over and tried to adjust the packing job, but found two slits running up and down the back of her double's suit.  "What are these?"

            "I recall mentioning –" Van began, "that the enemies we fought yesterday were Draconian."

            "If they've built wing slits into the standard uniforms I think its safe to assume that they were purposely Draconian."  Dryden assumed, finding some on Daiji's back as well.  "Very interesting."

            "We'll ask Eries about that too."  Millerna said, assertively.

            "Are we going to leave sometime?"  Dilandau called, sounding cynical.

            Hakai hopped around in his uniform, which was a little big for him.  "I'm ready to go!  Lets go lets go lets go!"

            "I'm prepared."  Allen announced, monotonically, unhappy with the idea of two Dilandaus running around.  He pointed one finger at their guide.  "I'm also prepared to use whatever force necessary to keep you in line!"

            Dilandau re-crossed his arms and stared needles into his ex-brother.  Hakai answered for him.  "He doesn't need you to threaten him, Hairboy!  Dil's gonna do what you want because He feels like it!"  Dilandau grinned at that.  He liked his double.

            The sixteen-year-old boy cleared his throat and struck a dignified pose, well aware that he was the leader of this little outfit and intending to get the most satisfaction out of his gifted power as he could.  He came off the wall and paced in front of his recruits.  "Alright, Losers!  You're my soldiers now so you gotta do what I say.  I'm not stupid and I know you don't trust me.  That's perfectly mutual!  I don't give a crap about a single one of you, but I know you need me and you'll follow my lead no matter what.  I wont leave you behind if you keep up and do everything I say.  We're breaking into a fortress, yes, but even a safe can be cracked if you know how."  He turned on his heel and faced them like a decorated general.  "Am I clear?"

            "Yeah yeah."  Daiji said.  "Lets just get going."

            Dilandau got up into his face and pointed a disciplinary finger at him.  "You're not going to like me."  Without moving a muscle he shot his red eye to Allen.  "Watch yourselves, you'll get Hell if you ask for it."  He then pointed to the door.  "We're going!  Move out!"  Hakai saluted and lead them off toward the exit, but the rest of the group wasn't going to let their friends venture into untold danger so easily. They ambushed at the door with farewells and assurances.

            "If you need to be rescued…" Hitomi said, "Millerna, Allen, …think really hard and ask for help with your heart.  Amano and Jiai will feel it though the connection."

            "I remember when we decided that, thank you, Hitomi."  Allen said.  "And you are positive it will work."

            "I am."  Jiai said with confidence.  "I'm absolutely positive that whatever Millerna tries to communicate I will understand."

            Amano scratched his head.  "Although I don't like being used as a human walkie-talkie."

            Allen was satisfied with Jiai's answer and cast an impatient eye at his double before re-addressing Hitomi.  "Okay, then I am also fully confident."

            Millerna was nervous as the time to leave arrived.  She rushed out of rank and into her lover's arms. "Dryden…"  He held her tightly, trying hard not to imagine the ways this adventure could turn out unfavorably.  She gave his neck a squeeze goodbye and came off him with her hands trembling.  "I'm not sure I can do this…"

            "You can."  He said.  "But you don't have to.  If you don't want to go, staying here and being safe is a good plan to."

            "No, no, I can do it."  She said.  "If I just think about how much I want to talk to Eries and all that can be gained, I'll be able to do it."

            "Okay."  He smiled at her as best he could and the sight gave her a little more strength.  "Take care of yourself though.  You know I'll blame myself if something happens."

            "I'm coming back."  She assured.  "I just found you, I'm not going to loose you again."

            "I'm looking after her, pal!"  Daiji assured.

            Dryden couldn't help but laugh.  "Okay, I'll blame you then."

            Daiji pointed to his chest.  "You'll still be blaming yourself."

            Millerna laughed too.  Dryden shoved him.  "Great!  You come back too, okay."

            Jiai jumped onto Millerna. "Bye!  I'll think about you the whole time and make sure you're okay!" Yukari and Hitomi joined in the farewells. 

            Van looked to Allen.  "I'll have Escaflowne ready.  Watch out for enemy soldiers, they'll probably be on high alert.  Don't take any risks.  If Dilandau tries to take you somewhere dangerous, don't hesitate to come back.  If it sounds like Zaibach is getting ready to attack send back a warning."

            "Don't talk to strangers, blah blah blah."  Hakai rolled his eyes and elbowed Dilandau.  "What's with the lecture."

            "Shut your mouth."  Van hissed.  Allen cleared his throat to redirect Van's attention.

            "I'm well versed in the procedures, Van, thank you, I'm well prepared to take over control of this mission if the need arises."

            "It won't."  Dilandau told him.  "Everything's taken care of."

            "I'm WELL prepared."  He said, resting one black-gloved hand on his sword handle.

            Suru came up and gave Hakai a big hug around the waist.  "Goodbye Hakai!"

            Her brother's face blanched.  "YCK!!!  Suru!  Get off!"

            She stood back and waved at him.  "Be careful.  I'll miss you!"

            His white was replaced with a bright red embarrassed blush.  "Ugg… Su!"

            She smiled up at her brother's taller companion. "You too, Dilandau.  You be careful."  Dilandau studied her perplexedly.

            Suru's sappy comment to Dilandau made Hakai angry.  "We will already!  Can we leave now!"

            "Finally."  Dilandau agreed.  "Yo Losers!  We're going."  The five of them marched out in military style.  They left the merchant ship and the safety of their comrades behind them and weaved their way into the streets toward the palace.  They were unaware of how commonplace they actually looked.  Unbeknownst to them, Trapan's Draconian forces were seeping into the alleyways like ants in a hill.  One Maginot clumped across the landscape, sending its delegated ground troops into every home and business searching for their target.  Trashcans were overturned in indigent back alleys, driving the homeless from their shadows.  Every soul was pressed for information about the whereabouts of the Nadejes.   It was the group traveling without their captain, Areolar's troops, that found the Asturian's path from day before in his job-search, and it was only moments before they found the shop where he'd been accepted.  "I've got a lead!"  A soldier shouted as he barreled out of the store.  "Over here!"  The rest of his platoon joined him in the street.  He pointed off down the road over the heads of the constant Zaibachian city traffic.  "That way!"  The soldiers abandoned their search and followed his direction down the hill, perpendicular to Dilandau's troops who were approaching from the other way.

            "This is the way I came."  Hakai reported to his double.  "When I chased out the last bunch."  He turned and looked up at Dilandau, whose extra three years had given him nearly a foot of extra height.  "You memorized this place?"

            The other glanced backward at the rest of the group and answered when he was sure that no one would hear.  "No.  Heck, I usually saw this city from the cockpit of a melef!  I'm just walking toward the palace.  I can see it through the buildings."

            "Flying one of those big suit things must be fun."  Hakai said.  "I mean stomping around shooting fireballs – "

            "Actually, apart from the fire, there's this crap called liquid metal that you can shoot out – "

            Allen watched Dilandau speaking casually and was struck with how normal he seemed.  It was almost impossible to comprehend after all the trials and pain Allen and Celena had endured because of him, but this freak-of-nature homicidal maniac, who was, in essence, an innocent girl turned inside out, seemed like a normal sixteen-year-old boy.  Granted a normal teenage boy with a severe social disorder and massive mental issues, but still a thinking, feeling individual.  Allen fought himself down.  How could he believe that?  Dilandau was a plague.  He was a disease.

            In moments they were facing the outer wall of the palace.  Millerna hadn't calmed down and was fighting to keep her arms from trembling.  Daiji put his hand on her shoulder for support.  Dilandau turned to everyone.  "Okay, here's the deal.  From here on out, you're not people, you're robots."  He narrowed his eyes and snapped at Daiji.  "Get your hand off her!"  The large man jumped nearly out of his skin and landed at attention.  Dilandau continued.  "Do what I do exactly as I do it.  Got that?"  The all nodded.  The albino peered around the corner of the same gate opening used by Reeden and Llave earlier.  There were posted soldiers here and there, but the body of the army was holding vigils inside.  Trapan had called out all of his forces to scout the city for Seguir under the guise of the external guard.  The courtyard before him was mostly clear apart from squads on their way out.  He spied the nearest guard a few yards away.  The soldier looked bored and yawned widely as three soldiers dashed out of the perimeter at a run.  The sun was setting above the silhouette of the palace.  Dilandau ducked back into the shadow and sent a hoarse whisper back over his shoulder.  "Run behind me in pairs.  Stay at the same speed.  Follow a step behind each other no more no less.  Go!"

            They took off at a less-than-even pace, taking a couple of seconds to fall into rhythm.  Dilandau led them across the sun struck center yard, conveniently looking like the pods of migrating soldiers populating the plaza.  They passed through the gate and into the compound seamlessly.

            At the run-down hotel, Seguir and Ayen paused in their dishwashing when hey heard the door to the lobby thrown open.  The Asturian pressed his ear to the door, not daring to open it.  His daughter held the pendant tightly in her soapy hands.  "What is it?"

            "Shh."  He listened closely, picking up the signature tones of Zaibachian voices.

            "If you are holding a man and young girl here we demand you turn them over immediately in the name of King Zaibach!"

            Seguir felt his heart stop and clog his throat.  They'd been found out!  He turned urgently to Ayen.  "Is there another way out of this room!?"

            "Yes."  She answered.  She could see the panic in his face.  "The back door… this way."  She shoved through the tools, each clatter making Seguir's heart stop.  She unlatched and shoved the nasty door outward, the hinges squeaking loudly. 

He gave her a bit of a shove out into the dark alleyway.  "We've got to move fast!  Get to the Pravada and leave this place."

            She gasped suddenly and grabbed his sleeve.  "But wait!  Van's sword!  I left it upstairs!"

            "We can't go back."  Seguir insisted.  "They've come for us!  Do you remember where we hid the Pravada?  In that old building at the edge of the city?"

            "Yes."  She nodded, her green eyes pale in the faint green lamplight and her own panic.  "I remember!  Should we run?"

            "Yes!  For your Life!"

            The pack of mock soldiers dashed their way into the loading dock, their haste completely commonplace in the bustle of the palace guard.  Hakai recalled the entrance he'd used to sneak in before and lead them along the wall.  Dilandau stopped him when they were out of sight and turned to his followers.  "Stone faces, people.  Not a blink out of step or you'll blow us wide open!  I'll get us past the guards if you pretend you're not alive."        

            They all nodded and slipped into their role, some finding it harder than others.  Allen tried to hide his skepticism behind a straight mouth and placid eyes.  The demon child was going to march them straight into the thick of it and they were following without question. 'He's probably going to turn us in,' the knight thought, 'that would teach me for letting my guard down, but I can't stop him.  I have to protect Celena no matter the cost.'  He cheated a snarl in frustration, realizing that his devotion to his sister meant that he had to protect Dilandau with his own life if necessary.  Millerna was following behind him next to Daiji.  She checked side to side as they headed for the door, finding the level of activity concerning.  At the same time they were headed straight for a guard.

            The man looked up, surprised and leveled a weapon on them.  "Hey!"

            "Let us in, runt!"  Dilandau snapped, impatiently.

            The guard dropped his halberd and flushed white as death.  "A ghost!"  He'd fainted in an instant, allowing an open portal inside.

            Daiji raised his eyebrows to the body as they passed.  "That was strange and unexpected."

            Dilandau snuffed and kept walking.  "I've got powers you wouldn't even understand."

            "Now we need to find the throne room and my sister." Millerna voiced, glad to be out of the hangar.

            "What happened to shutting up?"  Dilandau hissed. "I've got it!  You don't have to remind me your highness."   He laughed to himself.  "If you'd given me a sword we'd have been there by now."

            "Now you're asking too much."  Allen shot in outrage, making Millerna suddenly afraid of being discovered.

            Hakai snorted from beside him and spoke ahead to their leader.  "Never mind him! He and Amano are exactly the same."

            Daiji smirked.  "There's a reason."

            "Shutup!"  Dilandau said again.  "What do you think that just because we're inside it's a cake walk?  Do you WANT to get caught?"

            "Do you want us to get caught?"  Allen accused under his breath.  Dilandau didn't hear or at least neglected to comment, winding them into the heart of the palace as if he owned it.  He held his head high.

            'Now this I've got under control… I could find my way around here without eyes.'

            "Ayen stop!"  Seguir grabbed her shoulder and tugged her with him into the shadows.  Two foot soldiers dashed past on their way into a neighboring building.  She clasped his restrictive hand, her heart pounding loudly.  He waited and watched from the corner of his eye.  Once the coast was clear he took her hand and led them at a run through the streets.  The Pravada wasn't much further.  When they reach it they could run away… but to where?  Fried?  No, Fried was crawling with Factionaries.  Perhaps the swamps of Chesario.  They would sink into the mud and disappear.  As the ran the buildings declined in condition, holes in the walls and collapsed roofs becoming frequent and then common as they stomped the soot in the creases of the cobblestone streets. At a fleeting glance he caught sight of a grounded airship, the hull torn apart in places and lights on inside.  He gasped.  Was that…?

            "Daddy!"  Ayen was pointed the other direction, a Maginot had appeared on the horizon headed their direction.

            He grabbed tighter to her hand and increased their speed.  "Its not too much farther!  Don't let up!"

            The Atlantican pendant bounced off her chest as the stumbled along behind him.  As the sun set above them, she could feel the pink stone beginning to shine.  It was growing warmer and brighter even as thick clouds gathered above them, darkening the darkening sky.

            On the Merchant ship, Hitomi was feeling anxious.  She clutched at her throat, rubbing it raw trying to find a chain to cling to.  Her eyes stared straight ahead, an anxious fear clouding them.  She had a nasty feeling knotting in the pit of her stomach and an inexcusable urge to flee.  They were going to be caught, she knew it, but she had to believe that it would be all right.  She didn't know why she was so shaken.  Yosu paced in front of her with Merle and Koneko watching.  His sister spoke over the sound of his footsteps.  "Yosu?  Do you think Daiji and Hakai and everyone will be okay?"

            "I can't say."  He answered.

            "But how do you feel?"  She pressed him.

            "Hmn."  He continued back and forth with no real response.

            Merle's ears flattened along her neck.  She slumped and sighted.  "The air is really thick.  It feels like its going to storm."

            "Hitomi?"  Koneko turned her question to the girl lost on the window seat.  "What do you think?"

            The brunette looked up, startled.  She nearly spat out exactly what she thought, but stopped when she realized what she was saying.  "I don't… I mean…"

            "Come on, Hitomi."  Merle begged.  "You always got feelings and stuff before.   You could tell the future."

            "I want to know too…"  Jiai said from the other side of the window seat where she was facing away from the steadily graying sky. 

            Hitomi clasped her hands together.  "I don't like this at all.  I don't like the feeling I'm getting.  I feel like I'm… they're… going to be caught."

            Koneko slumped.  "That doesn't make me feel any better."

            Jiai balled her hands in her lap and turned out the window to see the dirty city lit in green.  She noticed Dryden when she heard a frustrated groan from the window next to hers.  She turned her aquamarine eyes and studied him as he stood staring intently in the direction of the palace.  Van stepped up next to him.  "There's a lot going on out there.  You can see Melefs and soldiers filling the streets from the cockpit.  Something's got them moving."

            "Everyone's fine."  He said quickly.  "There's no reason to think otherwise.  They aren't looking for us.  They haven't found Millerna yet."

            Van leveled his eyelids at him.  He could tell that the Merchant was trying to convince himself more than anyone else.  The young king disliked the hypocrisy.  "Whose to say they aren't looking for us."

            "Van!"  Yukari shouted.  "Don't say things like that!"

            Amano put his hand on her shoulder.  "Van, we're worried enough.  Don't make it worse by reminding us of stuff like that."

            Suru wandered over and stared woefully out the window at the cityscape, for some reason drawing Van's attention to her large blue eyes.  The roving melefs were just coming into view among the rooftops.  She pulled Leptelepitos up but the arms and pressed her to her chest.  "I miss Celena."  Van paused and turned back to the window where the flashing green and ugly grime of the hostile city was growing more pronounced in the gloom.

            Dilandau marched them through the back hallway.  "This place is always neglected.  It's a dead end."

            "When why are we coming down here?"  Allen asked tersely.

            "Would you shut up already!?"  Dilandau groaned.  "Who's the guide huh?  Who?"  Allen frowned but was silent.  Dilandau snubbed him.  "That's what I thought."

            "Dilandau," Millerna appealed respectfully, making Allen even angrier, "why are we going down this hallway?"

            "There's a grate down here that leads to an air vent."  He said.  "The throne room has no windows, so they circulate air through  pipes in the walls.  Gotta keep those royals breathing afterall.  This one snakes around and spits you out behind the tapestry wall in the back.  The opening is hidden by the country seal and a purple curtain.  There's nothing to stop you sneaking in if your quick enough and small enough."

            "Uh," Daiji ventured.  "I don't think I qualify."

            "You and Schezar'll stand guard."  Dilandau answered.

            "Hold it!"  Allen protested.  "I'm not letting you and Millerna go in alone."

            "Then find another way in." The boy responded snottily.

            "That's your job."  Allen snapped.  "I'm not letting Millerna be unattended with a maniac like you."   

            "I don't like it either."  Daiji agreed. "I promised Dryden I'd keep track of you Millerna.  I don't like standing in a dead end hallway and hoping you're okay."

            "Dil and I will keep her okay."  Hakai said dutifully.

            Allen crossed his arms.  "I don't find that any more reassuring."

            "Allen," Millerna appealed with a piteous expression on her face, "Please!  I have to see Eries.  I believe Dilandau - that he can get me inside.  I appreciate your concern, but he hasn't given us a reason to distrust him so far."

            "Millerna!"  Allen cried.  "Do you know who you're talking about?"

            "Let me go please!"  She begged.  Her eyes were large and hopeful. They looked like Marlene's.  Allen faltered in his resolve.  She turned to Daiji who nodded gravely.  Empowered she looked to Dilandau.  "Where's this grate?"

            "Back here."  He moved down the hall and pointed up near the ceiling where a metal grate was covering a two-foot by two-foot hole in the wall.

            Hakai rushed forward.  "I'll get it!"  He used his double's shoulders as a step up and forked the grate off the wall.  Daiji dove to catch it before it hit the metal floor. Allen rolled his eyes back and exhaled.  The man with the grate shoved himself up and propped the cover against the wall. 

            "That was close."  He scratched his neck and watched as Hakai pulled himself up into the opening.  "How did you know about this, Dilandau?"

            "Ah, I'd send Gatti in here all the time."  He answered.  "This place wasn't really used when Dornkirk was all mummified.  His mondo boat cart didn't fit, plus they'd have to punch holes in the roof for that telescope thing.  The guys and me – we'd sneak in and trash it every now and then for fun.  Miguel'd make pipe bombs and Gatti'd run in with 'em and hide 'em under the thrones and stuff.  You should have seen us back then when we were eleven or whatever!  It was great!"  Recalling all this made him flinch and his mood changed drastically.  "Nevermind!  Its none of your frickin' business!"

            "I'll scout it out!"  Hakai announced, disappearing through the hole.  In moments he could be heard calling back, his voice echoing off the metal walls.  "Clear!"

            Dilandau gave Millerna a leg up, glaring evilly at Allen as she vanished through the hole.  Then it was the guide's turn.  He jumped for the ledge but was a little short.  Daiji stepped in to give him a foothold.  Dilandau was shocked for a moment, but accepted his help with an aloof snort and his nose in the air.  "I could have done it myself."  With that Daiji and Allen were left alone in the hall.

            The inside was just as Dilandau had said, the three of them dropped down behind a heavy purple curtain and crouched against the wall, peaking their heads out to see the body of the throne room.  All they could see was the back of the thrones and hanging tapestries, but there were voices.  Millerna recognized two of them immediately as the King and Queen.  Lyse was speaking.  "There has to be something I can do for you, Eries."

            "You have done enough, Lyse."  Her flat lifeless voice answered him.  "You cannot cheer me tonight.  Not with the news I received today."

            Millerna reacted to her sister's sadness and dashed from the wall.  Dilandau and Hakai grabbed for her but missed, each assuming identical expressions of distress and outrage.  The Queen came into the lamplight and around the thrones.  She skidded to a sudden stop when halberd-wielding guards barred her path.  The Zaibachs turned, Millerna catching the Queen's pale blue eyes.  "Eries!"

            She reacted, recognizing the voice but not believing her own ears.  "Who's there?"

            Millerna tore off her helmet as Dilandau and Hakai joined her.  "Eries!  It's me!  Millerna!"

            "Millerna!?"  Eries bolted to her feet. 

Lyse nearly fell from the throne, catching himself in time to signal the guards.  "Stand down!"

            Eries descended the thrones and parted the solders to reach her sister.  Her hands flew to the 16-year-old's cheeks.  "Is that truly you?  We had heard you'd been taken!"

            "There was a mutiny at the castle!"  She answered.  "Haman and Seguir turned against me.  All of the Asturian guards were corrupt so I escaped."

            This was news to the older sister, but she masked any reaction with royal blandness.  "The same for Fanelia?"

            "Yes."  She answered.  "Zaibach is attacking!  Please tell me you had nothing to do with it!"

            "Zaibach has finally attained peace."  Eries answered.  "We are still collecting the pieces.  We could neither launch  nor survive an attack."  She turned over her shoulder.  "Lyse!"

            "I didn't do it!"  He assured her.  "Millerna, are you saying we're at risk of a mutiny here too!?"

            "We've been followed by several mecha soldiers since I left Asturia."  Millerna said to Eries.  "They've attacked us many times, and they are operating here now under your army's direction!"  She took her sister's hands.  "We have to get you out of here!"

            "It's him."  Eries concluded showing more anger than Lyse had ever seen.  "The messenger from before.  His attitude, that untrustworthy aura, he is behind the mutiny if there is one."

            "Mutiny!"  Lyse was sweating and trembling.  "And I've filled the palace with guards!  Oh I've doomed us!  Doomed us!"

            "That's you're king?"  Hakai cried.

            Dilandau agreed.  "What a wuss."

            Eries turned her most reassuring voice to him.  "Lyse, calm yourself."  He had learned to read her subtle expression changes and took a deep breath, finding the faintest tint of consolation in her voice to be immensely soothing.  Eries turned to Millerna.  "We cannot leave Zaibach.  Our responsibility is here."

            "But you're in danger!"  Millerna cried.  "I can't let you stay!"

            Just then Areolar, his brown eyes pleased with his power over the king, marched in with a set of soldiers.  He was intending to update King Zaibach on the "crisis", feeling that if he made the king feel involved his control would be complete.  He was taken by surprise to see the strangers standing with them.  Eries immediately face him.  "Soldier!  I have reason to believe that an attack has been planned against the heads of state!  Explain yourself!"

            "That is outrageous your highness!"  Areolar hissed. 

            She came to stand directly in front of him.  "I believe you are behind this.  Clear  your name!"

            He hated the Queen.  "You accuse too rashly." 

            "No!  You lie!"  Millerna shouted at him. "You are planning to take over Zaibach!"  She stood next to her sister.  "Just like in Asturia!"

            Areolar narrowed his eyes on the girl.  "The Child Queen."  Millerna looked puzzled and angry.  All Areolar had learned from his conversations with Trapan was coming back to him.  If she was here, then the rest of her party must also be here.  And, more than likely, the King and Queen knew everything.  Trapan wanted Zaibach for the restoration, and the Erreder would not fail.  Not like his commander.  He would never stoop to running away from a difficult situation.  The blond threw his hand to his sword.  "No human can bar the path to the future!"  As if this was a battle cry, the attending soldiers turned their halberds on the people they were assigned to protect.  Those guarding the thrones pinned Lyse to his seat, those by the door rushed to arrest Dilandau and Hakai, and the Aston sisters were faced with the end of Areolar's blade.

            "I warn you soldier."  Eries said, professionally.  "This action is in direct violation of the crown.  You will be punished accordingly."

            "You were always in the way."  He snarled and with a lunge, he stabbed her through the stomach, the blade slicing under her ribs, tearing through her life.  Millerna's eyes gaped as she witnessed the puncture, the spurt of blood, the end of the steel appearing from the back of her sister's royal robes.  While the stab seemed to occur in slow motion before the girl's eyes, the removal was fast and seamless, making a sound like wind through a crack in a wall.  Blood flew from the edge as it regained the air and was made ready for more attacks.  The majestic queen fell to the floor.

            "NO!!!"  Millerna found herself screaming at the bleeding shape on the floor, tears coming painfully to her widened eyes.  "No!  ERIES!!!!!"

            "ERIES!!!!!"  Lyse cried in anguish, his chest pressing against the point of a halberd pressed into his shirtfront as he strained in disbelief.  The soldiers were stunned at what their captain had done.  He himself was invigorated, his brown eyes alight with the thrill.  Slain the Queen.  Death was such an easy and fulfilling way to remove those in the way. 

             Dilandau used this pause to his advantage.  He smacked the blade out of the hand of the closest guard.  "Hakai!  Get her out!"

            The boy ducked around the guard and grabbed Millerna's arm.  "Come on!  This party's over!  Let's get out of here!"

            "Eries…"  The 16-year-old cried, flooding tears in waterfalls down her cheeks, her hands trembling.  She was drug unconsciously sideways by the blond, never removing her eyes from her sister.  Painfully, Eries looked up to meet her gaze, the clouds of death thickening across her blue eyes.

            "Millerna…"

            "HEYA!"  Dilandau hacked at the guards, whirring with violence, taking them out one by one.  He headed straight for Areolar.  "Come get me, toughguy!  I want to taste your blood!"  Areolar had no choice but to fight, throwing his bloodstained sword up to block the hasty impassioned blows.  Millerna was removed through the front door, the sound of sword clashing falling on her deaf ears.

            Daiji and Allen had heard the commotion and hurried around to the main entrance.  They met Hakai and Millerna in the hall.  Daiji looked at Millerna's stricken, backward glancing face and snapped at Hakai.  "What happened!?"

            "They killed the Queen!"  Hakai answered.  "There's a major fight going on in here!  A mutiny like the other places!  We're in the middle of a huge takeover!"

            "So Zaibach wasn't in charge."  Allen growled.  "It was a victim as well… and we arrived just in time to see it fall."  He grabbed Daiji's arm. "Its not safe here, the whole palace will be swarming in minutes."

            "We'll run for it."  Daiji resolved.  He took Millerna's arm from Hakai and suddenly realized how badly she was in shock.  She wouldn't move willingly and could not stop staring backward at the door.

            Allen noticed someone missing.  "Where's Dilandau?"

            "We left him fighting with those guys."  Hakai replied.

            Allen drew his sword.  "Go on, I'll catch up with you!"

            "Right."  Daiji agreed.  He gave Millerna a tug but she was completely out of it.  Her trembling fingers were in her mouth and her eyes were quaking.

            "Eries…"

            The 21-year-old picked her up over his shoulder and began running after Hakai.  Millerna realized the door to the throne room was retreating from sight, leaving her dying sister behind.  She understood that she would never see Eries again.  "NOOOOOOOOO!   ERIES!!!!!!!!"

· Escaflowne 

Jiai leapt out of her chair, her hands pressed over her rapidly beating heart.  A horrible feeling had hit her like cold water and taken her breath away.  She was nauseous and dizzy, her spine flooded with waves of shock and dread.  The rest of the room rushed over to her.  "Jiai!?! What is it!?"

            "Something –"  She sobbed, tears squeezed from her tightening eyelids.  "Something has happened!  Something awful!"

            "Awful like what?"  Koneko pressed.

            Van began to storm off.  "I'm going."

            Hitomi grabbed his hand.  "Wait!"  Then turned to Amano.  "Do you feel anything?"

            "I … guess…"  He scratched his neck.  "I feel angry and anxious, a sick uncomfortable gut feeling, but that may just be me… I can't tell."

            "I don't like it."  Dryden fretted, sounding taxed and beaten down. "I don't like it at all."

            "Someone-"  Jiai sank down into the window, pulling her legs and arms up around her.  "Someone died…"

            Everyone stared, ice hitting their veins.  Van was the first to move.  "I'm going."  No one stopped him as he struck out for Escaflowne.

            Allen clanged into the middle of the fight, fending off the attacking soldiers.  Dilandau had successfully dispatched most of the attackers and was brimming with energy as he engaged the captain.  The head rush had constricted his eyes and grown a maddened grin on his face as he worked at hacking and thrusting, no rhyme reason or method to his style.  The sharp edge of the defender's sword had been worn down, chunks in places splintering off as Dilandau chopped at it.  Areolar was loosing his confidence and becoming a survivalist, parrying where he could, backing away from the monster he was facing.  Allen threw his sword in between them and knocked Dilandau off his trip.  Lyse watched frantically from the throne, bound by spear points.  Areolar fled to his pack of guards, his arm shaking.  Allen had one goal in mind – get Celena out of there and back to safety.   He twisted the maddened boy's sword blade with his own and flung it from his hand and across the room.  Dilandau watched it go in shock and was scooped up by the knight.  It wasn't until he was being rushed from the room that he had a chance to react, coming back into his right mind and thrashing furiously.  "No fair!  Let me go!  I wasn't done yet!  I wanted to kill him!"  Allen didn't say a word as he ran to catch up with Millerna Daiji and Hakai.

            They wound back through the halls, Hakai in the lead, avoiding soldiers where they could and knocking them down where they couldn't.  The news of the mutiny was spreading throughout the building as they made their escape.

            Prestress watched from his cockpit, seeing soldiers dashing into the building from their places at the perimeter of the palace.  His sharply slanting golden eyes narrowed.  Whatever was going on was none of his concern.  One of his ground troops ran up to him.  "Sir!  The Man and Girl have been spotted northwest of here!"

            Prestress trained his glance in the more appropriate direction.  "That is Areolar's sector."  He called to his fellow Maginot pilots.  "Vector!  Torsion!  Resultant!  Northwest!"

            The other three came about and marched after him, leading their squads of ground troops.  Virial watched from the rear, suspended in a bath of liquid metal, proud in the cockpit of the Red Demon Melef.  Swooping from the sky he caught a gleam of white against the blackening storm clouds.  Escaflowne was on the scene.  "The Dragon!  Here!?"  He moved in the liquid and readied his right arm for firing.  "This could be a positive or a negative turn of events.  They could ruin our chances of obtaining Atlantis.  On the other hand, after we do gain the pendant, the Dragon is here for the picking."  He narrowed his lavender eyes on the melef as it transformed and clomped down, throwing dirt clouds from its feet.  "I'll keep it busy until then."

            Van called a lot of attention to himself by merely showing up.  The four Maginot stalled in their pursuit to stare. Resultant clenched his teeth with glee.  "Yehaw!  Escaflowne!"

            Vector stepped in to bar his associate's path.  "This is not our path now.  One issue at a time."

            "Atlantis Resultant!"  Torsion shouted.  "You can get revenge later!"

            He fumed.  "Believe me, I will."

            Escaflowne wasn't looking for the Nadejes, it was looking for a fight.  Van saw the four moving off and headed in that direction.  "You're not getting away this time!  You'll pay for the lives you've taken and the pain you've caused us!"

            "Vector!"  Prestress prompted.

            "Continue as you were!"  Virial interrupted, appearing behind them.  "I will fight him."

            Resultant snarled in secret.  First Torsion now Escaflowne, his ex-commander was robbing him of all he desired and deserved.  His bloodlust was overpowering.

            Van stopped dead when he saw what was headed toward him. "Dilandau!?!"  It was a ghost from the past.  " It can't be – unless what Jiai felt was – "  There was a certain degree of rage in action behind his eyes.  "I knew we shouldn't have trusted him."  With a lunge, he attacked and parried by the protrusion of a long and glinting clema claw.  This was the beginning of a fencing match that Van found completely unexpected.  His opponent was reacting more reserved, more conservatively.  Un-Dilandauic surely.  Van reconsidered and changed his style to incorporate a more strategic approach.

             Seguir had seen when Escaflowne flew overhead and paused.  "That's…!  That means that ship I saw… that must be the Eyes' ship!"

            "What!?"  Ayen tightened her hold on his hand. "My double!?  Does that mean that Van is on that ship too!?"

            Seguir didn't answer her.  Escaflowne's current fight was an effective diversion and the Pravada's storehouse was just ahead.  He tugged her hand. "Come on!"

            The pack of them were at the edge of the palace wall.  Dilandau had calmed down enough to give up on Areolar and looked over the scene.  Hakai tugged his sleeve.  "Major huh?  People are going nuts around here!"

            "Escaflowne."  Allen pointed, seeing his comrade through the buildings.  "Van's out."

            "Hey!"  Dilandau cried, spotting the red giant.  "That's my melef!  Who stole it!?"

            "Nevermind." Daiji said, Millerna still hanging, mourning over his shoulder.  "Let's get back to the ship before this place turns into another Chesario."

            "Second."  Allen agreed.  "I'll need to get to the Scherazade."

            They dashed along the road and found themselves barred by a wealth of cross-traffic.  All of the Draconian soldiers were running toward the northwestern corner.  One stopped and addressed them.  "Soldiers!  Nadeje was spotted this direction!  Don't tarry, we need to capture him!"

            "Uh, Yessir!"  Daiji saluted and watched the man dash off with the rest. 

            "Nadeje!"  Allen cried.  "He's here!?"

            "And they're after him."  Daiji said.  "Aren't he and the Maginot on the same side?  I'm confused."

            "What the heck!?"  Dilandau shouted.  "Who are we talking about and why have we stopped to care!?"

            "Good point."  Daiji said.  "We don't have time to analyze this yet."

            "Lets get outta here!"  Hakai called leading the five of them across the street and through a back alley.  They moved down the narrow green-lit side roads, soldiers passing them going one directions and citizens passing headed the other.  Thunder rumbled overhead.  Soon the Merchant ship was moving into view among the rooftops, a large shadow in the masked sunset.  Reeden and Llave were posted at the top as lookouts. 

            Binoculars followed their progress as they inched closer and closer.  Reeden barked to his companion.  "Chip!  Go down and tell the bigwigs that they're on their way!"

            "They are!?"  Llave cried, happily.  "All of them!?"

            "Yeah all of them, get going!"  Reeden called down into the cockpit to his fellow Crusaders.  "Teo, go open the door will ya?"

            Llave hopped down next to Gadess who was overseeing the bridge, saluted quickly and dashed from the room.  Gadess nodded to Teo.  "Go ahead and do as he says, open up the gangplank and close it once they're inside.  I got a feeling we should put this place behind us."

            "Yeah Cap'n!" 

            When Allen and company finally approached, the door was being cranked down.  The knight thrust Dilandau and Hakai up first, speaking to Daiji as he did.  "I'll get to the Scherazade and you get Millerna upstairs."

            "Alright."  Daiji entered next.  "Make sure Van knows everyone's okay… well, everyone of us at least."

            "Hurry."

            Teo resealed the hull as soon as his boss was on board.  Allen turned to him.  "Go tell Dryden to get this ship in the air!"

            "Roger that Boss!"  The group split company, Allen headed for the hangar and the rest going upstairs.  The bunch of them met the others on their way down, Dryden and Hitomi in the lead.  Teo stopped the Merchant before he could meet.  "Boss says to take off."

            "I've already given the order."  Dryden answered hastily.

            Hitomi met Daiji.  "Oh my gosh!" She looked around.  "Where's Allen!?" 

            "Headed for his melef."  Daiji replied, then called over her head to his double. "Dryden!!!"  He met his double's gaze and directed to the burden on his shoulder.  Dryden came over as fast as he could and Millerna was given to him.  "She's okay, but she's in major shock.  Her sister… "

            Millerna felt Dryden's arms around her and her eyes shot to him like a magnet, phase two of her condition taking hold.  Her eyes swelled with fresh tears and she collapsed sobbing into his chest.  "It's terrible! It's terrible!  Oh Dryden… Eries she…"  Her sobs were absorbed by his shirt.  He pulled her tighter into himself.

            Daiji continued the story.  "We were there just in time for the mutiny.  We were right, Zaibach wasn't behind it, but we didn't save them either.  Their own military turned on them.  All we did was watch the country fall."

            "I guess this was a waste."  Dryden said, sounding guilty.

            Suru ran up from behind and grabbed her brother and Dilandau by the hands.  "Hakai!  Dilandau!  I'm glad you're okay!"

            Both of them removed their fingers from her with identical jerks, shaking them out as if ridding them of germs.  Hakai frowned.  "Su!  Not in front of Dil!"

            Yosu, Yukari and Amano showed up, Jiai behind, not looking well.  Yukari clung to her boyfriend.  "Is everyone alright!?  Where's Allen?"

            "He's getting his Guymelef."  Hitomi told her.

            "Yeah, ya got any spares?"  Dilandau demanded.  "Some phony's out there in MY Oreides and I gotta go kick his butt!"

            Amano scowled at him "We don't have any "spares"."

            Yosu backed him up, "Not like we'd let you into one anyway."

            "What the crap!?"  Dilandau crowed.  "What'd I ever do to you!?"

            "Let's get back upstairs."  Dryden said, assertively.  "Get ready to take off.  We can't do any more damage around here than we already have."

            Allen tore his hair out of his collar, letting it fall over his back.  Without his white puffed sleeves, some of it fell back into his face as he strapped into the Scherazade.  The Merchant ship was going through takeoff procedures as he charged out of the hangar and jumped into the fight.  Virial was still getting used to his new suit as he experimented with the liquid metal blades and lances.  He shot three streams of the semisolid material out at Escaflowne who deflected them with the gleaming blade of its long sword.  The metal caught the glimmer of the last of the setting sun as it began to disappear behind the ruins and storm clouds.  Allen charged up behind him, his sword ready.  "Van!"

            "Allen!?"  Van turned quickly.  "Is everything alright!?  Jiai had some kind of episode – "

            "They killed Queen Eries!"  Allen said briefly, deflecting one of Virial's ribbons.  "They are holding the King captive!"

            "They What!?"

            "We're getting out of here."  Allen told him.  "We need to get somewhere safer.  Fried, or maybe Egzardia.  We're pinned in this corner surrounded by oceans and Asturia.  Once the Merchant ship is in the air, we'll run to meet it and leave this hornet's nest behind."

            Van stared through the grate of his helmet with an expression of shock and anger.  He didn't lie the way his stomach was digesting any of this.  "Running away again."

            Virial took some steps backward and switched to the flamethrower setting.  Vector tuned in his mission making Prestress and Resultant stop behind him.  The 19 year old was furious.  "What gives!?"

            "There are two fighting with the Commander."  The big man said. 

They turned and saw the Scherazade.  Prestress looked to the back of his large companion.  "Which path now?"

            "Follow Torsion." Vector told them.  "I will aid Virial."  He lumbered lead-footed toward the spar. 

Resultant frowned deeply.  "He's out of his mind!  I'm not sticking around here while he gets to fight!"  HE ran, his eyes on Escaflowne.  "Not when I am the one who deserves it!"

            "Resultant!"  Prestress cried.  "That is not our course!"

            "What's going on!?"  Torsion demanded, coming alongside the beast man.

            "We must find Atlantis."  Prestress said, resuming his previous direction, keeping a wary eye on the battle as he moved away from it.  Torsion stared as Vector stepped up to the fight.  With one heavy swipe of his short sword he barreled the Scherazade over sideways.  Allen crashed into Van, who fell down into some buildings.  Virial turned.

            "Vector?"

            "Commander!"  Vector called back.  "You were overpowered."

            Resultant charged up behind and jumped on Escaflowne.  Van threw up his arm to deflect the sword, a wound opened below his elbow. 

            "Van!?"  Allen cried.  He grabbed Resultant's Maginot by the shoulders and threw it aside.  Van got up and readied his sword.  The two Maginot and the Dragon Melef surrounded them.

            Meanwhile, Seguir had made hi way into the hangar.  The fight had given him an excellent opportunity, the search party was reduced dramatically by the arrival of the two enemy melefs.  Maybe now their chance of escape was higher.  He clambered into the cockpit.  "Ayen, are you secure?"

            She clung to her previous position on his shoulder.  "I'm alright Daddy!"

            "Let's get out of here!"  He brought the Pravada to life and stepped out into the hazy early storm early dusk daylight.  Prestress spotted him and came on.  The Pravada took off running.

            The Merchant ship rose from the ground nearby.  Seguir stopped quickly, sensing the movement.  Van and Allen saw it too.  The knight stepped back, aiming for a retreat.  "Let's go!"

            Escaflowne lunged and scathed the arm of Vector's Maginot.  He turned to his fellow soldier.   "Go ahead!  I'll follow by air!"

            "Right!"

            Allen ran for the ship.  Torsion spotted him and followed but he'd jumped into the safety of the hangar before she could reach him.  Resultant saw her, standing separated from the safety of the rest of the group.  Escaflowne sliced down on him, forcing him to one knee.  Van turned to Vector and bashed him in the mouthpiece with the butt of his sword.   With a quick glance to Virial he transformed to flight mode.  The Dragon soared after the flying ship, and the Demon Melef followed without hesitation, the three remaining leapt into the air.

            Vector, Resultant, and Virial soared above the city.  Resultant looked down.  They were just above Torsion, who had remained on the ground and was walking to aid Prestress's hunt for Seguir.   He saw his chance.  "One Revenge at a time!"  Without warning, he left flight mode and dropped down to the city, landing behind Torsion's Maginot.  He whipped out his sword and pulled her to his chest, his blade cutting across her throat threateningly.

            Torsion was taken by surprise.  "Ah! Who's there!?"

            "Think you can get out of rejecting me, huh?   You'll see, I would have been everything you've ever wanted."

            She recognized the hissing in her ear.  "Resultant?"

            Virial noticed and found himself seized with a freakish shock.  The Machine's gears ground on each other, he stared fixedly as he maintained his intercept course with Escaflowne, his eyes zooming in on the two Maginot, watching steadily what was happening below.  The lavender irises gaped as Resultant took his short sword and plunged it into her melef at an upward, slanting angle.  She felt it charge through her cockpit and watched the gargantuan blade rise across her face. She drew back with a cry, its sharpened edge opening a slit in her right cheek.  The weapon had also split her shoulder apart separating tendons, nerves, and ligaments.  Blood poured out of her suit down the length of the sword.  More from fear than pain, she screamed.  "GLAUCUS!!!!"

            Virial dropped from the sky.  He lost his shell in an instant and released a fury he never had exposed before.  His wings crowded his cockpit, white feathers soaking up the liquid metal becoming gummy, sick and ugly.  He swiped at Resultant with one Clema Claw.  The short sword zipped out of the woman's suit.  "Scream for him, Torsion!  Scream LOUDER!!!"

            Her melef was gravely injured, the cockpit door falling open with a crash and she slumped out to land in the sooty Zaibachian dust, her wounded arm lying limp and gathering filth in its sticky stains.  The commander stared down at her.  "TORI!"

            Prestress had his golden eyes focused on the green Pravada, unaware of the crimes being committed behind him.  Seguir tried to activate his aerial boosters and escape by air, Ayen held with all her strength to his forest-green cape.  She noticed the machine come to a stop and looked up.  Spying Prestress coming after them, she began to panic.  "Daddy!?  Why have we stopped?  Why have we stopped!?"

            Seguir stared straight ahead in shock.  Ayen had been watching behind and not ahead.  Her father was unable to answer.  A large, black, gleaming shape had risen from the skyline. Its eyes were green as it stared at them.  The energist on its chest began to glow like red flame.  Ayen noticed the pendant around her neck was glowing vibrantly.  She grabbed at it, but could feel it emitting energy through her hands.  It caused her hair and dress to move as if in a wind.  The shape was the Tamarak, and the Atlantican elements that made up its construction were calling out for the power that she held.

Prestress stopped to take in the situation.  He was broadsided by another melef.  A Teiring; the make associated with the intensified luck soldiers.  He fell into a building, smashing the walls in as the swift new melef passed without hesitation.   He found himself caught up in the cables of the destroyed building, and fought to free himself as he turned to see where the rogue Guymelef had gone.  It had headed to where three of his companions were caught up in a struggle.  Lightning flashed overhead.  "What is that?"

            Resultant flashed his blade in front of Glaucus's face, a stream of Torsion's blood running down it.  "What do you think of your sweetie now?"

            "If you've killed her…"

            "I didn't commander, I couldn't kill the woman I love!"  He said snidely.  "She'd be mine if not for you."

            "Resultant!"  Torsion yelled from below, one hand held fast to her bleeding shoulder.

            Glaucus glanced quickly down and stepped in between her and her attacker.  "What are you doing?"  His brow creased sharply over his lavender eyes.  "Why have you attacked her?  She is your comrade.  This thing you've done… it's insulting to not only yourself, but your family, your people and your ancestry.  All we as a race have worked for… you… you've dismissed it in one moment!"

            "I've never heard you talk like this, Commander."  Resultant noted.  "And you're right, I am a Draconian, and the gods will reclaim the world.  But my passion is Revenge.  Revenge against those who take what I value away from me.  Draconian or not, it makes no difference.  Escaflowne and the allies took away my home.  Men swarmed in and destroyed my family.  And you…"  He checked the side quickly, the Teiring coming over the landscape toward them.  It had one arm prepped with a bright, sharp claw blade.  Resultant set his blue eyes on Glaucus with a cocky smirk. "You my dear Commander, have taken the woman I love away from me and you will pay for that!" 

            "Resultant!"  Torsion pleaded.  The Maginot thrust his sword to stab at Glaucus and was blocked by his Demon Melef's arm.  A flash of green flew in fast, kicking up dust.  She released her bleeding shoulder to shield her face.  The intruding melef collided with the Oreides, grabbing his helmet piece and sneering.

            Glaucus, in shock, stared into the face of the new man.  The shield folded back and revealed the self-conscious, almost gleeful expression worn by the pilot.  "Areolar!"

            "Areolar!?!"  Torsion cried, her hand smearing the blood on her face.  As she stared in disbelief, Resultant watched with satisfaction.  Without acknowledging his sister on the ground or breaking eye contact with his Commander he plunged a clema claw up and under the armor, slicing through the cockpit.  The force threw liquid metal out of the cockpit face grate.  Glaucus would not feel the pain, a white-hot screen was filming over his eyes.  He gasped and a lungful of liquid metal drained into his mouth.  The thickness could not be coughed up, his body incapable of trying anyhow.  Torsion's eyes froze wide, trembling. Her brother ripped his claw out of the dying man's body, a stream of gray liquid metal spewing like a fountain from the gash.  The Melef sank down to one knee then fell like a rock, leaking out blood and fluid in a great pool.  Torsion reacted, her legs wobbling over her feet as she rushed over, her dead arm clutched against her stomach.  "GLAUCUS!"

The Pravada and the Tamarak were at a standoff.  The Stallion Melef stepped closer and a voice seemed to radiate from it, louder than could be emitted by a normal man.  "Here!  You will no longer run!"

            Seguir stepped backward, recognizing the greasy lilt in the projecting voice.  "Trapan!"  Ayen's blood ran cold.

            "You will return Atlantis to its rightful owners!"  The pilot appeared on the curve of the guymelef's neck.  The eyes of the suit glowed even brighter with him just above the head.

            "No one is meant to use this power!"  Seguir called back.  "The power of Atlantis is a relic!"

            "It was created by Draconians in an age long ago!"  Trapan reminded him.  In a flash, a lightning bolt flushed the sky.  After an instant of blindness, the two could see a pair of white wings extended from Trapan's back.  His sneer stretched with the rolling of the thunder.  "It must return to us."

            "It destroyed us!"  Seguir cried. "You're going to destroy us again!"  He stepped back and toward the mountains.  "You have already torn apart families and killed innocent people in this crusade of yours!"

            "You are hurting, Hero."  Trapan said in mock and underhanded sympathy.  He reached into his cloak and removed his glowing sword, the pink and green stones shining bright and powerfully intimidating in his hand.  He leveled it at the Pravada.  "This is about your wife and daughter is it not?  Allow me to heal it!"  His blood-bound melef shot a stream of liquid metal from its altered arm.  The Pravada recoiled but Ayen was picked off its shoulder.  Seguir reached for his sword.  "NO!"

            "Daddy!"  The girl was reeled in, the liquid metal pinching her arms to her sides.  The struggled but could do nothing but watch him in his suit as she was pulled away.  She found herself once again looking into Trapan's serpentine face.

            The oily figure frowned down at her.  "You have been more trouble than you are worth, Youth!"  He grabbed her pendant and yanked it from her neck, snapping the chain.  She cried out at his touch, afraid he was going to hurt her, like he'd hurt her before.

            Seguir charged toward them.  "Let her go, Trapan!"

            "She is the cause of your pain."  Trapan announced.  He held up the pendant that was glowing through his fingers.  "I will release you from this pain."

            Seguir gasped.

            In a whip like motion, the metal ribbon threw her into the air and toward the Pravada.  She screamed as her Fanelian dress caught up in her legs and her hair blew into her eyes.  She fell through the thick sky, not knowing where she was going or when she would hit something.  The Pravada dropped its sword and stepped out to catch her.  "AYEN!"  Seguir couldn't reach her in time, the buildings and lightening flashes obscured her from sight long enough to confuse his eye. 

            She had only one option to save herself both she and he knew, and from somewhere inside her heart she heard a woman's voice cry "Wings, Ayen!"  With a rush a pair of Draconian Wings extended from her back.  The feathers caught the wind and turned her right side up again.  Seguir let a sigh take him but the moment was swiftly dismissed.  Trapan had approached and a sharp blade was rippling out of his modified right arm.  Ayen was not safe yet.  The Asturian was suddenly possessed by instinct.  He unstrapped and the front of the Pravada opened.  Two hands jumped to his chest where the shoulder buttons of his uniform were secured.  The back fell off his official shirt and out came a pair of powder white wings, strong and broad.  He soared through the air, his eyes locked with his daughter's.  They both reached out, their eyes green, both the light of fear and the threat of hope unfailing in each, even as another lightning bolt streaked the sky.  The world seemed to slow and condense around them.  A flash of lightening lit the action of the Tamarak, its brightly glinting claw swinging high and coming down.

            Ayen was picked from the sky like an insect, sliced and smashed down out of Seguir's reach.  White feathers fell detached as she vanished.  The force of the blow killed her instantly.

            Hitomi suddenly went cold and the world inside her went black.  She felt herself telescope inward.  Yosu caught her as she fell backward.  He stared anxiously in her face and his or Van's voice echoed loudly in the empty space of her life.  "HITOMI!!!"

            "AYEN!!!"  Seguir froze in air, watching dust turn up from the ruined square of cityscape.  A feather floated down across his face, the immaculate edges brown with dust and frayed as it spiraled unevenly in the air.  He reached out and it tipped from his fingers as it made its way to the grave sight below.  He was broken.

            Trapan held the pendant high before his face and looked over his shoulder at the drifting and defeated god.  "Now the source of your pain is gone."  His voice held confidence in the expanse of the sickeningly still sky.  "I expect you to run no longer.  You will join with us in the realignment of the natural order and bow to the master.  We will meet again, Hero, or I suppose that such a title is no longer appropriate is it?  Your heroics failed and your damsel is no longer of this world."  He descended back into the seat of his Melef and began to walk again, stepping heavily down on the place where the dead lay, smashing the pieces of a leveled wall and dismissing the gathered dust.  Seguir sank down to the ground, his wings stiff.  Touching down, he stumbled to the broken wall, gray dirt and feathers blowing in the growing gusts of storm-blown wind.  He spotted the edge of a wing sticking from under a slate.  Tears in his eyes, he grabbed at the edge, even though the scene betrayed no hope of life.  Even if there had been a chance, the slab was too heavy for him to lift.  After a time of vain trying, his hands and back were aching and he could do nothing but slump to the ground, put his face in his hands and cry.

            Torsion breathed quickly and shallowly.  She stood before the Oriedes's cockpit door, blood running down her arm and face, tears of fear and disbelief cleaning stripes in the stains over her cheeks.  She approached, her unsteady feet slipping in the bloody metal runoff.  "Glaucus??"  Her arm flopped down to her side and she reached to the faceplate.  It was still dripping ooze and she couldn't bear to look.  She began to pound on the hatch, "Open.  Open, let him out…"  The melef was cold as stone, not moving, not letting her in or him out.  There was no one to release.  She could see velvet red blood tracing ribbons in the streams of metal like marbled columns.  She pressed her face against the scuffed and stained metal.  "No…"  She slid down the surface into the puddle at her feet.  "No…"  Tears, blood and silver stained her face and hands.  She curled up in the pool and sobbed.  She was the closest she would get to him.  They never even kissed.  The man she loved was dead.

To be continued


	17. Episode 17: Resoluteness

Escaflowne:   Mirrors 

Episode 17:  Resoluteness

            "Hitomi!?!  Hitomi!?!"  Van stood over she and Yosu.  His double held her tightly, staring down into her empty, gaping eyes.  He'd caught her when she'd collapsed and never let go.  Van shook her shoulders violently.  "HITOMI!?!"

            "Its not like Yukari!"  Amano cried.  "She's dead!"

            "Shutup!"  Van swiped at him blindly and returned to her body, his fingers digging into her arms.  "HITOMI!"

            "Lord Van!"  Merle fretted.  "She's died before and came back!  Keep trying!  Save her again!"

            Van's eyes reddened at the edges, fear frustration and anger stabbing them with tears.  How could he not have been here when she fell?  She couldn't die like this, not when she was so young and they had forever left to be together.  Yukari fell to her knees by Hitomi's head, the green eyes murky like standing water, not moving.  Van grabbed her face and screamed directly into her face.  "HITOMI!  Don't leave me like this!"

            Yukari felt woozy but focused on her best friend's face.  A tear fell down onto her cheek.  The Lunar looked up and saw that it came from Van.  Hitomi's eyes began to water.  "You're doing it Van!  Keep trying!  It's working!"

            "Hitomi!?!"  Van fell down to his knees as well, pulling her up out of Yosu's arms and across his chest.  "HITOMI!"

            Koneko stared into her face where it rested on his trembling shoulder.  "She's crying!"

            Van tightened his hold, not allowing the life in her to escape.  Yukari pressed her ear to Hitomi's back, listening hard.  She tired to pick out a heartbeat or breath among the sounds of her own pounding heart and Van's anxiety.  Hitomi was cold, but not frozen.  Yukari thought she could feel movement below her skin. "I hear her heart!  She's alive!"

            Merle looked into the girl's face.  "Hitomi!?"

            The girl was unresponsive, tears glistening on the edges of her eyelashes.  Van loosened his grip and let her slip down into a cradled position along his arm.  She was alive, but she wasn't there.  Her eyes were still shallow and cloudy.  As he watched, they slowly closed, squishing the tears out over her face in trickles.  His body was suffering from the rush of excitement and the deep sorrow and relief he felt now.  His breath quick and uncontrolled, threatening to sob, he closed his eyes and pressed his face into her hair.  The rest of the room bowed their heads, feeling the pain of a strong young man brought to the edge.  Merle sat down next to them, her ears pressed flat and her blue eyes pooling. 

            Yukari was feeling lightheaded, more so now that Hitomi wasn't dead.  She staggered up and into Amano, who watched the lovers on the floor, aching inside. The air was thick with sorrow.  It seemed like despair was all the Merchant ship had gained as they retreated over the mountains.  The rain was now falling hard, but it did not dilute the misery.  Millerna and Dryden sat on a window seat, the sound of the rainfall behind them.  She pressed her face into his chest, crying silently, her eyes closed.  She wanted it all to be a dream, she would never open them again if she could help it.  She did not want to see what had become of them, and Dryden was warm.  It made her pain a little easier bear with him there. 

            He was melancholy as well.  Even with Millerna pressed tightly to him and refusing to let go, he held a remnant of his old doubts and self-pities.  He blamed himself for everything, it was he who pushed to pull off the mission, and even though he knew how dangerous it was he let Millerna go straight into the heart of untold danger.  He was supposed to take care of her, her and everyone.  They didn't have to have gone to Zaibach.  They could have gone north to Deidlas – or to Egzardia, or to Fried, or the moon or the ocean or anywhere but the den of the lions.  What a worthless leader he was. This proved that he could, indeed, do nothing right.  His arm loosened around her with a sigh, but she clung tighter.  She wanted him there.  'I don't deserve the privilege,' he thought, but he strengthened his grip anyway.

            Yosu stood, useless now to Hitomi, but broken for it.  While he was afraid for the girl he'd come to love, he was bitterly envious of Van.  It made him guilty as well.  He felt selfish and resigned to a corner, his stomach knotting.  Daiji had previously been in Yosu's new corner, feeling uncomfortable and gaudy in the circle of the boy's mind.  He looked to his double and got the same impression, then noticed Jiai back on the window seat gnawing a finger and staring at a point across the room where the floor met the wall.  He felt his heart hurt.  Maybe it was because she was Millerna, but maybe it was because she looked helpless, but he felt the need to go to her.  He sat on the seat next to her.  "Are you okay?"  She did not speak but laced her arms around him, her eyes not straying from their focal point.  He tightened his lips and stared down at her head, then put his arm around her shoulders and sighed.

            Dilandau was pacing along the back wall, rubbing his temples, the world seeming to fuzz in and out as the sound of Van's emotion reached his ears.  The very atmosphere was making him throb.  Suru and Hakai said against the wall watching him pass back and forth before them.  He could feel the girl's eyes on him as if they were attached to him by magnets.  She was attentive to him alone and any glance he gave her made his red eyes twinge violet.  Hakai got up and attempted to mimic his step, he couldn't quite keep up because of the length of his double's legs.

            Allen came into the room with Gadess, he'd been flying about the ship since he returned from the fight.  Now he paused holding the door handle as he looked over the room, the people coupled off and dreary.  "What's wrong?"

            A couple people looked up to him but no more than that.  Koneko answered him.  "Hitomi's in a coma, and everyone else is sad."

            "Hitomi?"

            Van buried her in his embrace, as if protecting her from the news of her own condition.  Allen narrowed his eyes on him, his heart beating faster with the memory of the feelings he held for her.  When his eyes hit Millerna so deeply sunk into Dryden he felt his hidden temper flare.  He threw the door from his hand as he stormed inside, it slamming against the wall and making the rest of them jump.  Gadess grabbed it quickly as it bounced back, looking up to the faces as if to apologize for the sudden noise in the tomblike room.  Llave poked his head around Gadess like a curious child or a park squirrel.  He bit his lip as he watched the Knight march over to his master.  Allen's voice seemed brash and ugly against the sound of the rain.  "Dryden."  The merchant paused a second, his eyes flat and isolated just as they were when they had met him a day ago.  "The ship needs repairs.  I'm taking it to Fried."

            Dryden looked at him out of the corner of his eye.  Llave stepped up to implore him.  "Sir, we are in need of repairs.  There's rain getting in the hull from the holes those soldiers made.  Fried is closest."

            Dryden blinked, closed his eyes and nodded.  Allen put his hands on his hips.  "Is that a consent?  YOU are in charge on this ship.  Give me an order."

            "Do as you deem fit, Schezar."  He said, dispassionately.  "Who am I to dissent?"

            Allen narrowed his blue eyes and stormed out with a swish of his hair.  Llave cocked his head to study the merchant as he put his head on Millerna's and closed his eyes.  She pressed her face into his clothes.  Gadess jumped out of his boss's way, still holding the door, and whispered to Llave when Allen had gone.  "Kid, come on."  The dusty blond followed the sergeant out and returned with them to the bridge a couple steps behind Allen.  When they arrived, he mustered enough courage to speak to the Knight's back.  "Sir Allen?"  The question was not acknowledged and Llave's brown eyes drifted down.  "Do you think that the young lady with the green eyes will be all right."

            The query only hardened Allen more.  Gadess turned back and answered for him.  "We don't know what will happen to Hitomi, but don't worry, we'll try all we can.  Maybe there's someone in Fried who can cure her, or maybe she just needs to fix herself.  She's pulled through stuff like this before."

            Llave felt assured until Allen finally spoke.  "There is no one in Fried that can help her.  This condition is new to her.  It's a result of the Lunar doubles I am sure of it.  It is just like Marlene and Yukari – " He paused abruptly and swallowed.  "something has happened to her copy.  I think she died."

            The rest of the crew felt strangely, their leader so troubled, but soon fell into their new routines.  Kio was feeling very comfortable at the helm, the broken glass and rubble cleared out of the space and the new glass salvaged from below loyally keeping the rain out of their equipment.  The instruments and adornments were much finer here than on the Crusade.  Those used to a common skiff felt like kings at their stations.  Llave and the other three original crewmembers held the more obscure points of necessity on the bridge.  Allen stood at the center of it all as Gadess relayed orders.  "We're headed to Fried for repairs.  Set us on a bearing for Godasim, but don't heat the stones too much.  I don't feel comfortable in this territory."

            "Yes Sir!"  Kio said, importantly.  "Coming about!"

            Allen stared as the mountains circled them out the window.  So many countries had fallen in so short a time… he wondered… was Chid safe?

                             Escaflowne                                 

            Night had fallen in Zaibach but no one could tell.  The rain fell from the dark hazy.  The green light lit up the clouds in patches making them look like inverted waves of dying landscape.  The rain caught soot, dirt and pollution as it fell, gathering into filthy, sticky pools.  Seguir wandered this wasteland, the ground darker than the sky, his wings dragging through the muck as he roamed, aimlessly, lost in the place and rejecting every square inch of it.  He wanted to leave; to leave and never return, but his wings wilted, heavy with soil and water.  He was a grounded bird.  A wounded Angel.  And he kept hearing Ayen's voice calling for him, sometimes the soft sound of her sweetness in the rain, sometimes a shout from behind, sometimes the spine-shattering sound of fear itself shrieking 'DADDY' like an arrow through the air.  That frozen look on her face as they reached, her eyes begging him to save her.  Save me.  But he'd failed.  At these times in the sound of sticky footsteps or sliding mud he could hear Trapan's snakelike voice hissing… "Hero…"

            He was miserable.  Miserable beyond misery.  What had he left to live for?  He was alone in the world.  The Master had demanded everything of him and Trapan had taken it with pleasure.  When did things go wrong?  When did an innocent life turn into such a disaster?  Why did he share his secret with the world?  It was Haman's fault he knew, the slime ball was so anxious to pry his wings out of him.  Someone like Haman would turn him into the faction in an instant.  It seemed like he was doomed from the start.  Why couldn't the world work out for good instead of evil?  It seemed that Gaea was plagued with greed and death.  Trapan was expecting him to rejoin the Faction!  That was proof enough that the planet was accustomed to the deaths of loved ones and the pull of selfish intent… how could any feeling human being return to the place that ripped his whole life from him?  Could they really expect a beating heart to offer allegiance and obedience after suffering this much betrayal and torture?            Not from him!  He refused, swearing it on his own grave if that's what it came to.  If it wasn't for the Faction he would still have his wife and daughter, he would still have a peaceful country to live in and a sense of innocence that seemed blissful as he looked back on it.  "I'll rip my own wings off."  He muttered.  "I'll rip off my own wings before I go back."  She stopped and stared into a wide puddle, too dark to see his own reflection in.  "It wouldn't mean anything… to rip off my own wings… the world would still come to an end."  For all the loved ones who ever existed for anyone else anywhere else in Gaea, for all the children yet to be born to parents and all the men and women left to fall in love, for the future of Gaea as it was a new day would never come if the Master succeeded.  What he needed was to defeather him… shred the Master's wings and make him fall.  He wandered into the shell of a broken building, sparks flying randomly from a frayed wire held on a wooden post.  He noticed it briefly but paid it no mind.  Dornkirk used his knowledge of science to advance the Zaibach culture technologically but failed to save it from being the scourge of the planet.  All of Gaea would be in ruins soon.  Now that the Master had the Power of Atlantis what could possibly be beyond his capabilities?  The rest of the countries of the world could fall in a day.  If he wished it they could fall in a second.  How powerful was he?  Where would he go now that he had his treasure?  Perhaps he would head for Atlantis itself, up north lost in the sea and buried in snow.  Or maybe he would forge a new Atlantis, or give rebirth to the old one, or return to the moon, or create a new one.  It was impossible to tell.  He felt himself despairing again.  "How powerful is he?"  He asked himself.  "Can Atlantis do those things under its own power or did the Draconians use some other magic to accomplish what they did?  Even as a Draconian, how can I stop an army that's growing by the minute?"

            Just then his foot hit something on the ground.  It did not feel like a rock or part of the building.  It clattered at his collision and glinted gold in the struggling green city light.  He stopped and stooped.  It was a sword.  The handle and scabbard were richly made, dirty but undamaged, the handle emblazoned with the Fanelian crest.  "This is the King's sword."  He cried.  "Ayen brought it.  But how – "  He was in the middle of their old hiding place, but the detail passed quickly as he arrived at an important conclusion.  "Van!  The Eyes!  They have been fighting the Master this whole time!  I should find them and tell them what I know… perhaps with my help- if we work together we can overcome him!"  He took the sword tightly up in his hand and drew the blade a little to check its condition.  Strong, silver, unblemished, still sharp.  He'd made his decision.  Snapping it back into its sheath, he strapped it to his belt and headed back for the Pravada standing lonely where he'd left it gaping open.  The ship he'd seen before… it was headed east.  He'd find them before this awful night was out!

                             Escaflowne                                 

            Lyse, kind of Zaibach, sat on the floor with the empty body of his wife and queen across his lap.  He shut her still blue eyes and combed her blonde hair away from her paling face, her skin already growing cold.  He bit his lip to stop its trembling and tried to keep his eyes from tearing.  The young king was in shock, reliving the moment his world had collapsed; his own guards had been holding spears to him and his perfect bride, his strength, his support, his match was stricken down.  He felt crippled with no crutch to hold him up.  The world was upside down.  The prospect of going on… of gathering himself and ruling a kingdom without her…it was inconceivable.  He ran his fingers of Eries's pallid cheek.  Why didn't he realize that he needed her this much when she was alive?  That he loved her this much?  Maybe he hadn't known until now.

            A shadow grew up and over him as the guardsmen backed away.  Lyse could feel a draft of cold air and laid eyes on the edge of a jet-black robe.  He followed it up to a sneering, serpentine face.  Trapan stared down on him with coal black eyes.  Lyse sensed the blood in his veins begin to chill, but it was not until Areolar's face appeared beside him that he felt true terror.  The King could never forget the face of the man who killed his wife.  Trapan spoke.  "I see you are in pain, am I right your majesty?"  Lyse's contracted eyes shot up to him with a tremble.  "It is the lady Zaibach, correct?  She has caused your pain."  The king got a lump in his throat and tightened his arms around Eries's body.  Trapan sniggered.  "Yes.  Well, my name is Trapan, a prince among gods, and I don't… delight… in pain."  He snapped his fingers.  "In fact, it is the desire of my heart to remove your pain from you."  Lyse noticed the guards approaching in answer to their leader's call.  They all grabbed a hold of the corpse.

            Lyse did not let her go.  He pulled her closer. "No! Stop!"  Despite his zeal he was overpowered and she was wrenched from his arms, removed swiftly from sight by way of the front door. 

Trapan heard the portal close and smiled more broadly as Lyse turned his embrace on himself, his shoulders shaking under his thick royal cape.  "Do not worry young King.  We will make a quick end of her.  She will pain you no longer."  Lyse turned his head from Trapan's shadow, his shape that of a terrified child covering his eyes from a monster he'd seen in a nightmare.  The shadow bent to level his eyes with his trembling form.  "My young liege, I believe, if you value your life, that your best alternative is to surrender all powers and authorities to myself and my entourage.  Do you agree?"

            "I – no – I – uh"  Lyse was crumbling, the spears of his captor guards lowered on him.  One pricked him in the back and he jumped out of his ball straight into the sharp burning points of Trapan's eyes.  His train of thought was obliterated and he stared paralyzed into those pupils. 

            Trapan loomed closer.  "What was that?  I asked you if you prized your life.  Or were you thinking you would rather join your Queen wandering the mists of the lost?"

            Lyse sniveled and cowered, every limb shaking and his muscles rubbery in complete weakness.  He knew for an instant he was supposed to stand firm.  But broken so easily, he managed only one sentence from his trembling lips.  "Don't- Don't kill me -  Please."  Trapan took it as a 'yes'.

            Torsion was recovering well.  Since the rest of the army was stationed inside the castle grounds, she had the privilege of being treated for her injuries in royal accommodations.  She was much less than honored.  No fancy technique or executive physician could heal her bleeding broken heart.  She sat at the edge of her bed, her face and shoulder bandaged in layers of gauze and cloth, and her left arm cradled close to her body.  The wound Resultant inflicted to lure Virial had severed all of the major ligaments and nerves in the shoulder, rendering the limb useless, immobile and living only in the sense that her blood circulated to nourish its cells.  It was dead weight, most of the feeling in it gone, strapped tightly across her stomach with a fitted sling.  She wished her heart would go numb as well.  Her commander was dead.  She had been the bait for a trap.  She understood that.  He had told her he loved her and she knew deep down that she loved him back, but she had never really told him how much.  Their conversation on the plain of Egzardia was an awakening for her, she realized that her hard, controlling superior was a front.  He was a completely different person than he appeared on the outside, and he only showed himself to people he cared very much for.  She'd decided to spend the rest of her life with him, but then her brother interfered.  Areolar was the one who drove the sword into him.  Murdered.  Torsion grew hard, her brown eyes burning at the thought.  Areolar murdered Glaucus.  He was aiming for Virial but killed Glaucus.  It wasn't fair.  It wasn't fair to her and it wasn't fair to the one who was lost.  All she could think of was the outrage, the anger… Areolar.

            Prestress and Vector appeared in the door.  The beast man stepped inside, his head bowed a little and his long sharp ears pulled back.  "Torsion?"  She looked up, her eyes still flaming.  He reacted slightly, the impala ears coming up part-ways and his eyes setting temperately.  "Trapan has acquired control of the country.  We are leaving Zaibach tomorrow, most likely for the Master's Safehouse in Fried."

            "We?"  She asked bitterly.

            "Your brother has been assigned the Commander's old position at our head."  Vector told her, not sounding happy.  "He will use Trapan's Melef to lead the Maginot and be esteemed in the new Draconian Kingdom."

            "Rewarded!?"  Torsion shouted sharply.  "He's been PROMOTED!?  For killing Glaucus!?  He's a Commander!?"  She was breathing hard, her eyes wide and blood coming through the patch on her face in a ribbon.  "He will be honored in the new order for killing an innocent man in cold blood!?"  She bolted to her feet, her right arm held across her left, grabbing a hold of the elbow tightly.

            "It does not seem to be in balance."  Prestress admitted.  "The crime of mutiny and the honor he's been granted do not equalize.  Even on an absolute value scale, the weights are unbalanced – the good far outweighs the bad.  Your family name will praised eternally, secure in Draconian history, while the name of Virial will be wiped from memory forever."

            "Not while I live."  She said.  "What are titles and family when all truth and righteousness are forgotten?"

            "Trapan is not a logical man."  Vector reported.  "I have learned that he has killed many since we left his court in Fanelia.  I sense he operates independently from the master when he feels it necessary, or when he pleases."

            "And he's the one who's going to reclaim Atlantis for us?"  Torsion asked, her face becoming resolute.  "This isn't the way we were supposed to ascend.  Our ancestors created Gaea to be a world without blood and death.  Trapan isn't fit to lead us if those are the methods he chooses."

            "I admit that I agree."  Prestress said.  "But what are you proposing?"

            Torsion turned to them at attention, throwing her head up commandingly.  "Gentlemen, we're deserting."

            "We?"  Vector asked. "On what authority?"

            "Mine."  She announced, growing in strength.  "I am assuming leadership of our party.  We're going to Asgard to raise Atlantis before Trapan does."

            "Are you convinced that this is the best move?"  Prestress asked.

            "We're doing it with sound minds and knowledge of the true destiny of Draconians."  She answered.  "The gods of the past and present all desire the same as we do… a Gaea at peace where we can be accepted.  If we find the Mystic City and appeal to Fate with honesty we should be able to bring about the revolution of the world without Trapan's twisted heart involved."  She looked the two of them in the eye, infusing them with confidence.  "Are you with me?"

            "I find no imbalance in your plan."  Prestress nodded.  "I will do as you say."

            Vector pressed his lips.  "I am concerned about Resultant and Areolar."  The names made Torsion look angry.  "They lack you fervor, and truthfully, seem content with Trapan's new orders."

            "They won't be coming with us."  Torsion said with a snarl.  "I've ceased to associate myself with either of them.  The three of us will forge ahead on our own.  Perhaps others will follow.  Can the Maginot be configured to operate one handed?"

            "Yours is receiving such a treatment."  Prestress announced.

            Vector had a peculiar gleam in his eye.  "I saw to it."

            "Then we strike out as soon as it is ready!"  She decided.  She was ready to leave now.  With her brother and this terrible faction behind her she would be free to find new hope in the future.  "We will fly out and never look back.  The future we're facing right now forsakes us.  We owe it to the rest of our race across the planet to overcome it."

            Prestress's golden eyes closed.  "And I am even."

                             Escaflowne                                 

            Hitomi was stable and had been moved to her own room.  She lay comatose – not alive but not dead – with Van sitting beside her holding her hand.  Not long after the others decided to leave and trickled out to various parts of the ship.  Merle and Koneko had tried to start a game but it had failed.  Now they sat on top of a bookshelf swinging their legs.  Koneko sighed.  "Do ya think Hitomi'll be okay?"

            "I dunno."  Merle replied.  "She doesn't look okay now."

            "That's the truth."  Koneko huffed, slouching.  "Can we do anything to help d'ya think?"

            "Not likely."  The cat answered.  "When have we been able to help before this?"

            "Good point."  Her double agreed.  "So what do we do?"

            "Stay out of the way."  Merle said simply.  "Find something to do.  Lord Van is absorbed with her," she sounded sarcastic and jealous, "so I can't hang out with HIM."

            "I thought you'd given him up."  Koneko recalled.

            "He's still mine."  She said.  "He was mine first.  I don't like him spending ALL his time with her.  I feel ignored."

            "Well, we'll have fun somehow."  Koneko resolved.  They heard voices coming up the hall and stopped to listen.  Suru was speaking.

            "Where are you going?"  She and Dilandau passed by the door.  Merle and Koneko exchanged glances and clambered down form the shelf to join them.  They found a small crisis going on.  Suru strode ahead, sideways beside the 16-year-old.  "You're not leaving!?"

            "Yeah I am!"  Dilandau responded, rubbing his eyes.  "I ain't sticking around here with all this sap!"

            "Dil's leaving?"  Koneko asked.

            "He says he's leaving!"  Suru confirmed.  "I don't want him to!  He can't leave can he?"

            :I'm not a part of your little family, here."  Dilandau snarled.  "I don't care about that moon girl or this ship or the country or anything. I'm looking out for me!  I don't want to be here so I'm gone!  Understood?"

            "But I want you to be here!"  Suru pleaded.  "I don't want you to leave."

            "Yeah!"  Merle cried.  "What about Celena?"

            "Ow!"  Dilandau grabbed his head.  "Who!?  I don't' know anybody named Celena – OW!"

            "You're taking her hostage!"  Koneko said. "You can't go while you and she are the same person!"

            "No they're NOT!"  Hakai ran up from behind and shoved through the cat doubles.

            They all stopped.  Dilandau and Suru turned to face him as he stood at the center of their group.  Merle bared one fang. "What do you mean 'no they're not'!?  You SAW her change!  Duh they're the same person!"

            "They share the same body!"  He shoved her.  "Not the same person!"

            She shoved back.  "Don't push me!"

            "What do you know!?"  Koneko accused.  "You're like ten years old!"

            "I'm  TWELVE!"  Hakai shouted.  "And I know more than you!  I'M his double!  You don't know anything about it!"

            "I don't want him to go away."  Suru restated.  "Don't leave, Dilandau!  Stay here!  You're our friend!"

            "Shuttup, kid!"  He snapped, his hands on his ears.  "Your voice gives me a headache."

            "Come on, Dil."  Hakai grabbed his arm.  "You and me'll go find something to do."

            "Yeah, Suru, who needs them."  Koneko said, the two of them sweeping her off with them as they went the opposite direction.  "They can do what they want.  We can find our own fun."

                             Escaflowne                                 

            The Pravada was unhindered by the rain as it took off through the city, its cape flowing still and the boosters firing.  Seguir put his misery behind him as he traveled and once the first mountain was between him and Zaibach, the burden seemed less difficult.  He focused on finding King Van and the Eyes.  This range of mountains was tall and imposing, little green showing on them except in the valley where water runoff would gather.  The shower was racing currents down the hard stone faces, making them shine like ruddy metal.  'At least the lightning has stopped' he thought.  'Ayen never liked lightning'.  He wove around the outside of one of the slick giants, watching his flanks for tailing melefs.  If he was being hunted that was one thing, but it he was leading someone to the Eyes and her party, then that would be bad.  Ayen's double would be in danger…  The group on that ship might be the only ones that could stop this disaster before Gaea suffered.

            Content for a little that he was alone, he focused on what he was doing. "They were headed for Fried, probably Godasim considering royalty is at home with royalty.  Queen Millerna's nephew is the Duke afterall."  He saw the clouds overhead beginning to break up. "I should hurry, when the sky clears, Trapan will be headed this way too for sure.  The Master probably wants him to join him at his Safehouse.  I can't let them fly straight into the Master's hand."

            Kicking it into gear, the Pravada sped up and flew quickly between the mountains in search for the heroes.

                                                   Escaflowne                             

            "Van?"  Jiai stood in the doorway to Hitomi's bedroom.  The king was sitting by her head holding her hand, just as he'd been an hour ago when she'd left.  Jiai's blue-green eyes drifted to the ground, rocking on her heels and feeling awkward she addressed his back again.  "Are you alright?"

            "I'm staying here."  He said.  He chafed her hand.  "Hitomi needs me."

            "But are you okay?"  Jiai repeated, watching his thumb move across the cold hand.

            "I'm staying."

            Jiai bowed her head, receiving her answer.  "Okay."  She tarried a little in the doorway, giving the doting lover a concerned expression.  The thought of what would happen if Hitomi never woke up….  She stepped away from the scene finding images of her friend's death too fearful to consider. 

She had already passed Yosu when he startled her.  "She hasn't changed has she?"

            Jiai took a deep breath.  "Yosu you scared me!"  He was leaning against the wall beside the door.  He must have appeared there while she was talking.  Now the eyes that she couldn't see on Van stared at her through orange bangs.  Jiai hung her head a little.  "No, but she's quiet now."

            "He's staying with her right?"  Yosu said with disdain.  "I heard."  He frowned and crossed his arms across his school uniform.  "If he's in there I can't be."

            "You can go in."  Jiai told him quietly.

            "No."  He closed his eyes and frowned deeper.  "I'm already in there."  Jiai started to say more but stopped.  Nothing she could add would make any difference.  Instead of reminding him about his uniqueness she moved on, leaving him there to soak in whatever multifaceted broth he was brewing in his head. 

            She left the lodging deck and headed down the rich wood staircase to a carpeted hallway.  Depending on the mood, this ship could take many different forms.  To the lighthearted, it seemed open, inviting, colorful and intricate.  To the salt worn and troubled it was remarkably cavernous, cluttered and unfeeling.  She did not have any place in particular that she wanted to go in it.  She saw up ahead as Merle, Koneko and Suru passed into a study.  The two girls plopped Suru down.  "Okay, what do you want to do for fun?"

            Suru bowed her head.  "I don't know."

            "We could play marbles again."  Merle suggested.  "You remember, we taught that marble game to you and Celena."

            "I miss Celena."  Suru said, smally.

            "Hmm."  Koneko sighed.

            Merle swished her striped tail.  Suddenly she received a blast of inspiration. "Hey!  I know what we should do!"

            Koneko became hopeful.  "Whatcha got, Merle?"

            Merle held her fists purposely before her.  "We should get Celena back!"

            "You mean turn Dilandau inside out again?"  Koneko asked.

            Merle nodded.  "Right, you did it before, didn't you Suru?"

            Suru looked afraid.  "But wouldn't that hurt Dilandau?  I don't want  him to be hurt!  I like him too!"

            Koneko's amber eyes bugged.  "You what!?"

            "You like him?"  Merle cried.  "How can you like HIM!?!  He's like, pure evil!  And you're Celena's double too!"

            Koneko nodded fervently.  "You should hate every bit of him!"

            "But I like him."  Suru peeped.  "Hakai is Dilandau's double.  I like my brother.  I should like Dilandau too."

            Koneko scratched her head.  "I guess that makes sense.  But then again I can't understand how you can like having Hakai around either."

            "So are we going to get Celena back or what?"  Merle asked

            "I think we should try it."  Her double said.  "Its something to do anyway.  And it'll keep Dil from running away.  Let's  plot!"

            Yukari was standing on one of the balconies with Amano.  "Do you think Hitomi is going to be alright?"

            "You keep asking that."  Amano noted.  "Stop worrying.  I'm sure Hitomi will be fine."

            "What do you think happened?"  Yukari asked.  She tightened her grip on his arm.  "Do you… do you think her double died."  Amano looked down to her, himself growing concerned.  His girlfriend stuck to her thought.  "I mean, I wasn't connected exactly when Marlene died.   Perhaps the shock of having a connected person suddenly disappear did this to her."

            "Perhaps."  Amano agreed reluctantly.  He didn't want to think about the possibility.  Doubles and Death and Attacks were all very sensitive to him.

            Yukari read his hesitation in his tone.  "What's wrong?"

            "I don't like any of this."  He admitted.  "I mean, if fate and people have been copied then how can we fix all these problems we've been having?  Can we do anything at all with these connections now that we know we have them or do we have to live for the rest of our lives with people passing out and nearly dying spontaneously?  Even after we get back home?  That is if we ever do."

            Yukari bowed her head.  "I never thought of that.  I don't know what to say."

            Just then Millerna walked passed.  Yukari saw her from the corner of her eye and welcomed an excuse to change the subject.  "Millerna!  How are you doing?"

            The Queen turned a weary expression and a forced smile to them.  "Better.  I could cry for days, but I know that we don't have time for that.  Right now I'm just dealing with my emotions and trying to sort out some things.  I'll be alright."

            Yukari softened her brown eyes on her.  "Are you sure?"

            "I'm fine."  Millerna answered.  She looked at Amano who was glancing back at her over his shoulder, his chin length brown hair partially obscuring his face.  She trained on his blue eyes and paused.  "You look so much like Allen."

            Amano seemed disgruntled at this and broke eye contact, glancing back every minute or so to see if she was still staring at him.  She noticed that he was growing angrier the more he thought about her words.  Yukari noticed none of this and moved on with the conversation as seamlessly as if Millerna had said nothing at all.  "I thought for sure you'd be with Dryden.  You two were inseparable a little while ago."

            Millerna was suddenly struck with a look of panic, as if she'd been caught doing something wrong, but recovered quickly so that only Yukari noticed.  "I - I was, but I thought he needed some alone time."

            "Oh," Yukari sounded doubtful.  "Okay."

            Millerna heard her skepticism and looked into her eyes.  She could see Marlene in them, memories of a time when she and her sisters lived together in Palas peacefully floating into her head.  There was a trust in those memories and she appealed to Yukari with a confiding tone.  "Can I talk to you for a bit?  About – you know – private things?"

            "Oh, sure, Millerna."  She agreed.  "Right now?"  Millerna nodded.  Yukari looked up to her boyfriend.  "You don't mind?"

            "No, no," He replied.  "I guess I'll go check on Allen or something."

            "Okay."  Yukari approved.  "I'll find you later."  They broke company, Millerna leading Yukari down the hall one direction and Amano taking off for the bridge the other.

            While Dryden was in one of his studies feeling particularly depressed and not at all like being alone.  The mountains floated by slowly, dry and lifeless against a blue sky that seemed out of place.  Despite the pit of worthlessness he felt he was falling into, traveling always made him a little better.  Before all of these new people came he would spend hours staring out the window trying to forget his troubles.  Now it seemed not to be working, his head swimming with all the ways he'd failed in the last 48 hours. 

Daiji recognized this miserable feeling and came looking for him.  The 21-year-old came up and stood beside him at the rail.  "Hey."

            Dryden turned his head, his ponytail sweeping over one shoulder.  Daiji leaned down on the banister to match his counterpart's position, taking a moment to examine the sharply sloping crags as they disappeared into misted valleys below them.  "Its nice."

            "Yeah."  Dryden agreed after a pause.  "I don't know why but, I don't seem to enjoy it as much as I used to, you know, before the war and all."

            "Hmn."  Daiji straightened again, giving him a look.  He had something to share, but didn't really know how to go about voicing it.  He finally decided to just let it out.  "Listen, I know how you feel."  Dryden's green eyes cast over Daiji's and locked with them as he stood.  "No, seriously, I know EXACTLY how you feel."  He knocked on his own chest.  "Right in here.  And I just want to say, whatever you've got going on, I'm here for you.  I'm worried about you."

            Dryden exhaled heavily and leaned back against the railing.  "I'm sorry about that."  He looked quickly to his friend.  "That you feel the same, not hat you're concerned.  The fact that you care makes me feel better, actually.  Although I don't really see why you would."

            "What's that supposed to mean?"  Daiji pried, "I could start spitting out reasons why I should care, but I'd rather get down to business.  What's eating you?  Maybe I can help."

            "I don't know."  Dryden said, staring into the library blankly.  "I'd hate for you to get too involved and catch it too."  Daiji wasn't backing down, so Dryden hung his head and confessed.  "The truth is, there really isn't a reason why I still feel like this.  I felt lonely before.  Lonely and useless… inadequate, weak, troublesome, incapable of doing just about anything right." He suddenly caught Daiji's eyes again and continued.  "Because of how I behaved.  I was king you know?  But I was terrible at it.  I panicked when things went wrong and made stupid decisions out of ignorance that may have made the situation worse.  Millerna was married to me, but she didn't love me and she didn't make any attempt at it either, and with my father and Haman breathing down my neck the whole time I  - …"  He frowned, looking at nothing again, or perhaps looking inward.  "The generals and advisors were all shouting orders and tactics at me.  Allen and Van were glaring at me the whole time and thinking – I could tell by their eyes – thinking how… bad… I was at the whole thing.  And I was, I was awful.  But instead of trying I took the cowards way out and ran away."  He stopped his ran and took a deep breath.  Daiji sensed that it was good for him to get all of this out.  Dryden's voice was tainted with disgust when he spoke again.  "I've always regretted it.  It's been plaguing me.  I feel gross.  I told myself when I left that I'd come back when I was better fitted for the job, but that hasn't happened.  I don't think it ever will."

            Daiji put a hand on his arm to get his attention back, trying to sound reassuring.  "Hey, all of that wasn't entirely your fault.  You can't blame yourself for everything.  How ere you supposed to know what would happen in Zaibach?  And even with the kingship thing, how many rulers take control in a war?  It's crazy to think that you'd come in from being a merchant of all things and know exactly how to handle a job like that.  And it's only human to make mistakes."

            Dryden shut his eyes again.  "That's what Millerna said, and I want to believe her, but I was king…and a king shouldn't do stuff like that.  I can't seem to let it go, even if I try."

            "You know what you sound like…" Daiji said, putting a hand to his chin in a very Dryden-esque fashion.  His double raised his eyebrows to him. Daiji nodded, certain of his evaluation.  "You sound like you're depressed."

            "I know that."  He said.

            "No, I mean like clinically depressed."  He could tell Dryden had no idea what he was talking about so proceeded to explain.  "It happens to a lot of people.  It's a condition in which the brain does not produce the seratonin normal brains do. It's a chemical imbalance that's beyond your control.  Earth…well, its pursued medicine more thoroughly, or at least differently from Gaea.  Doctors on Earth can treat depression with medication."

            "Really?"  Dryden asked.  "So your doctors can give me some kind of remedy that would make all this go away?"

            "That's right."  Daiji said with confidence.  "When this is all over, don't worry, I'll see you get fixed up."

            It was as if a burden had been lifted and Dryden smiled for the first time that day.  He looked up at his double again.  "I'm glad I met you, Daiji.  I think I've always wanted someone like you, I feel like I've met a brother."

            "I can see myself in you too."  He said with a smug smile.  They both were amused.

            Jiai had finally given up on trying to find contentment.  It seemed to her that she was getting a taste of Millerna's sorrow.  While she was sick of being sad, she understood why.  In the end, she hadn't gotten to meet her "sister" after all.  She just hoped that Millerna could find some sort of solace and give her a break.

            Tucked into a closed parlor just off the balcony row, the queen was doing just that… trying to find a little peace for her tortured mind.  Yukari followed her into the room, sunlight pouring in with her from the open air outside.  She'd never seen this place before, probably because the door had been closed, and it smelled old.  The dust in here was different from the dust of the rest of the ship, which could be categorized as book dust.  Book dust felt aged, and lighter from being moved from book to book.  The dust in here just felt dated and heavy as if it was holding the air down and cementing anything it sat on into place.  A portrait of Dryden's father Meiden Fassa hung over the mantle on the far wall.  Millerna walked over and a sat on one of the antique couches, meaning for Yukari to do the same.  The 16 year old didn't like it much in here, and couldn't help but stare at how ugly the portrait was ahead of her.  Finally she sat down across from Millerna and tried to put on her best councilor's face.  "So, Millerna, what was it you wanted to talk about?"

            "Well, I'm – I'm confused."  She admitted.

            Yukari finally managed to devote her full attention to her friend.  "About what?"

            "About…"  Millerna seemed confused about being confused, or maybe it was shame that made her pause.  "Well, you see, I have this friend…"  Yukari crossed her arms and sat back, leveling her eyes a little.  Millerna continued timidly.  "And this friend, she likes this guy… and he loves her back, but he's not the same as he was when she fell in love with him.  And so… my friend… is afraid that of… or that is… she knows another guy who doesn't really love her, but has always been the same.  And she knows that this second guy will always be there for her, while the first guy …"

            "Wait wait wait."  Yukari interrupted.  "I'm sorry, Millerna, I can see through the "friend" thing.  I think you'd feel better if you just came straight out and told me.  This is about you and Dryden right?"

            Millerna took a minute then nodded, looking defeated.

            "Did you have a fight?"

            "No."  She said quietly.  "We didn't fight."

            "Then what is it?"  Yukari felt herself growing more and more concerned.  "You do love him right?"

            "I –"  She clenched her fists.  "I don't know."

            The other's gut twisted, as if she knew that Millerna's doubts were wrong.  "You don't know!?  Are you saying that you don't love him!?"

            "No."  Millerna said quickly, more quickly than she was expecting.  It gave her a little reassurance, knowing that her subconscious was sure about something.  "No I do love him.  I don't think it's my love that I'm unsure about, I can feel that in my heart, its just… it's just that he's changed."

            "Changed in what way?  Changed for the worse?"

            "I don't know… I don't know what to do about it."  Millerna fretted.  "He's hurting so much.  Before he was so self-confident and now he's full of doubt and afraid.  I feel like… like I want to help him.  But I still feel somewhat responsible.  I'm sure the change is because of the war and why he left, and I cant help but think that if I had just tried to help him back then he wouldn't be hurting so much now.  He left because he was disappointing me.  Is it right for me to be so fickle and come back to him when this is all my fault?  If I did what my heart tells me and stayed with him, well, I'd have to learn everything over again.  I don't know how much of the man I knew is still there.  And at the same time, I started thinking of Allen…"  She rubbed her arms as if she'd gotten a sudden shill.  "I know Allen's love for me was a lie, but at least I knew it would always be there.  It never changed.  I don't know what to choose; to follow true love that has risk or a false love that has security."

            "You can't go back to Allen!"  Yukari cried. "How could you live knowing the truth about his feelings for you!?"  She could tell that her words had a sting and tried to calm herself down before continuing.  "Millerna, Dryden loves you.  You'll only hurt him more if you leave again…"

            They were startled by a sound at the door and turned quickly, afraid someone might have overheard.  They found Llave in the middle of shutting it.  He looked up quickly when he realized there were people in the room.  "Oh!  I'm sorry!  I didn't realize you were in here."

            "Its okay," Yukari assured him.  "We were afraid you were someone else."

            "You were one of the spies weren't you?"  Millerna asked.  "One of the original crew members?"

            "That's right, miss."  He bowed.  "Please call me Llave.  And I apologize again for interrupting, it's just that this door is always closed…"

            "Did you hear anything?"  Yukari asked, sounding suspicious.

            Llave bowed again.  "Yes, I'm sorry, I heard some." 

            Millerna panicked.  "You won't tell your master will you!?"

            "No, Miss, I won't tell him what you said."  He promised.  "I've only been a spy once.  But, if you permit me, your highness, I would like to say one thing."  He looked into Millerna's blue eyes and she nodded to him.  He cleared his throat.  "It may not be my position to say, but, Your Highness, I have been with Mr. Fassa for a while now.  All of us who worked under him cared a lot about him, because he was such a kind employer, and I can say with authority that… He's happier than he's been for a long time now that you are here.  I beg you not to take that away from him again.  It was so dark around here before you came."  He gulped and bowed quickly.  "I'm sorry, I've said to much!  I didn't mean to…!"  He backed quickly out of the room.  "I will leave you to your conversation!  I apologize!  Only please, close this door when you've finished… otherwise the furniture will fade in the sun!  Thank you!  Excuse me!"  He hurried off, leaving the two girls staring after him through the open door.

            Hakai and Dilandau were in the hangar walking down the lines of antique Guymelefs.  One, colored red and black with gold overlay, which was seated holding a great spear, intrigued the albino.  He examined it from the floor.  "Sweet!  This thing rocks!"

            "I like the colors."  Hakai agreed.  

            "No it's more than that!" The sixteen year old replied.  He climbed up the stairs leading to the cockpit.  "This thing has to be at least a hundred years old!  Maybe two or there!  And it looks like it was made yesterday.!"  Hakai tried to climb up its leg as Dilandau made for a closer inspection.  "I bet that weirdo merchant guy got it from a collector or something.  It's probably Fanelian because of the red, but it's not that style.  The spear makes it seem Friedian but Fried was never a big country for melefs other than those archer ones.  Plus they don't really go for black very much except in their crest.  Everything else they own seems like its sand colored.  Maybe its from Deidlas."

            "You like this kinda stuff don't you?"  Hakai asked, coming to stand beside him.

            "You can do major damage in this kinda thing."  Dilandau told him.  "Blow stuff up – smash things – set stuff on fire.  I love watching things burn!"

            "Me too!"  Hakai cried. 

            Dilandau elbowed him.  "We could have great fun in a couple of these."  He got his hands on the chest piece.  "I wonder if it still goes."  He felt around for some kind of handle or lever.  "Hey, is there a door to this thing?"  He clawed at the edges, then banged on the chest.  "How do I get this piece of crap open!?"

            "Don't break that!"  Suru cried from the ground.  "Its not yours!"

            "Does it look like I care!?"  Dilandau shouted down to her and the Merle doubles.

            "Yeah!"  Hakai agreed.  "We can do what we want!"'

            Koneko and Merle weren't there for chat.  They were there for action.  "Get 'em!"  Racing up the melef, they made for the attack.  The boys' eyes widened in sheer terror for an instant then took off.  Koneko leapt down the stairs and pinned Hakai to the ground.  Merle pursued Dilandau and through the use of her mighty catlike powers she brought him down.  It was a struggle, the 16-year-old was bigger and stronger and she had to stand all fours on his wrists and ankles to keep him from breaking free.  He did not subdue quietly, struggling and swearing while spitting like a caged rat.  She gritted her teeth and called over her shoulder to the 12-year-old blond standing still.  "Su!  Su hurry up and do it!  I can't hold him here for long!"  She dug her claws into Dilandau's arms and he screamed in even greater rage.

            Suru stood with Leptelepitos held in front of her in both hands.  She looked down at the singed hair and thought about the night three days before when this half-dead visage brought Celena back from inside the independent youth who was fighting so valiantly for his freedom before her.  Hakai tried to shove Koneko off of him by her face.  "Suru!  Don't!  He doesn't deserve to be locked up anymore!  Don't send him back!"

            "Locked up?"  Merle shouted.  "If that's what you want to call it, then Dilandau deserves it more than Celena!  Celena hasn't killed anybody, and Dilandau's killed tons of people!"  She set her blue eyes like a laser on Suru.  "Send him back, Suru!  He belongs in the dark!"

            "But-!"  Suru seemed torn.

            "Don't do it, Su!"  Hakai cried.

            "Do it Su!"  Koneko shouted over him, her voice a little muffled with Hakai pulling her cheek.

            "What are you trying to do to me!?"  Dilandau shouted.  "Get off of me!  You frickin' cat!  I'll eat you!!!  What the crap!?!"

            Tears welled up in Suru's big blue eyes.  The girls stared in disbelief as the blonde experience a full emotional breakdown.  Clutching Leppy to her heart, she ran from the scene sobbing loudly.  Koneko was witless.  "S-Suru!  Come back!"

            Hakai slapped her across the face.  "Get off me!" 

            "Ow!"  She flew off with a swipe of his arm and he attacked Merle.  Dilandau was released and scrambled up only to attack her as well. 

The cat girl saw two demons bearing down on her and put all four limbs into motion to get out of the way.  She took off like a lightning charged fur ball the same way Suru had gone with her own survival on her mind.  "Neko!  Run for your Life!"

            "YAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"  Koneko followed suit with Dilandau and Hakai a little close for comfort.  The group of them tore like mad through the ship.

            Amano arrived on the bridge where Allen was overseeing progress.  Nothing much had changed in the elapsed hours.  Llave was gone, on his way back from talking with Millerna and Yukari, but things seemed fine without him.  Allen was lost in thought behind a mask of untiring vigilance.  The last time he was in Fried was the first time he'd seen his son in the flesh.  Now he was going back.  Marlene was so strong in the now.  While he figured out long ago that Yukari was her double – he saw it the first time they'd been together and felt it when she suffered her first attack as if she was screaming that answer at his face – he was distraught.  Marlene's existence again on Gaea made him feel more confused than perhaps he'd ever been.  He'd finally found the courage within himself to admit to himself, and to Millerna, that he was still in love with her sister.  He still loved Marlene and he could no longer entertain their affair.  Letting Millerna go took real bravery on his part.  Millerna was his consolation when he was feeling lonely and heartsick; she looked so much like Marlene, and shared a similar set of eyes and a similar voice with her.  It was very hard to let go of that.  For an instant he had found new hope for his heart…a new life with Yukari, but that died quickly when he realized that she was already taken… by him.  That bitterness stuck.  Even on another world he and Marlene had found each other.  They must have been more than fated to be… they must have been a design of the gods themselves…and Gaea stripped her from him.  How could he possibly live with that sense of injustice.  To help fuel his new burst of anger, Amano walked up beside him.  "How are we doing?"

            "We'll get there."  Allen announced in irritation.  "You don't have to watch."  
            Amano creased his face.  "Fine.  You do obviously, I'll get out of your way!"  He turned for the door but met Llave on his way in.

            "Oh!  Hello Double of Sir Allen, it's a surprise to see you up here."

            "My name is Amano."  The 17-year-old snapped.  "Amano Susumu!"

            "Oh," Llave piped, a little hurt, "alright.  I didn't mean to offend, I only assumed that, since you are the same person, there'd be no hard feelings – "

            Amano glanced back to his double's blond head.  "You assumed wrong."

            "Sir!!!"  The shout came down form Reeden on periscope.  "We've got a Melef approaching!"

            Allen snapped into leadership mode.  "A Melef!?"

            Amano whirled around.  "Maginot!?" 

            "Nah boss –" Reeden answered.  "It's the green one!  From before!"

            Allen and Gadess exchanged glances.  Gadess blinked.  "We're under attack?  By one melef?"

            "It doesn't matter if it's one or one hundred."  Allen said.  He turned to Amano. "Go get Van and tell him to suit up Escaflowne.  We'll meet him man-to-man."

            Amano nodded and shot out of the door.  He ran into Merle as she streaked down the hall on all fours.  Their legs were tied up and they crashed to the floor in a knot.  Koneko tripped and flew over them both.  Dilandau jumped for her, but Amano grabbed his ankle and plucked him out of the sky.  The Albino landed on his nose and turned, snarling, to the Earther.  "What the crap!?!  I'll murder you!"

            "Amano!"  Hakai roared from above. "What'd you do!?!  You ruined it!"

            Amano had no time to banter.  "Shut up!"  He narrowed his brown eyes at Hakai.  "Go get Van and tell him to get Escaflowne!  There's a melef outside!"

            Hakai's eyes brightened.  "There's gonna be a fight!?  Awesome!"

            Amano snarled at him.  "Go!"

            Yosu was still waiting outside the door, desiring a chance to sit with Hitomi.  Just for a moment he wanted to be the one holding her hand, keeping her steady, bringing her back to life, and loving her.   But Van was steadfast.  The orange-haired double eased into the doorway and stared at him.  'Why did she find HIM?  I was the one she was meant for not him.  He's from the wrong world.'  He found himself whispering these thoughts under his breath.  "I'm the one Fate was supposed to lead her to."

            Van didn't hear, he clutched her cold hand tighter and stared into her motionless face.  "Come on Hitomi, don't give up.  Come back."  He took a breath.  "I need you here."

            Yosu scowled at the longing look in his eye.  Van looked like he wished he could stare into her soul as his brown eyes fixed on her sleeping eyelids.  Through clenched teeth the Earther hissed again.  "I'm her destiny!"

            Van noticed him and his watering eye turned steely as he looked back over his shoulder.  "Why are you here?"

            "I've got a right."  Yosu replied.

            "Get out."  Van snarled.  "Get out and leave us alone."

            "Don't tell ME to get out!"  Yosu shouted at him.

            "She's not yours!"  Van returned in defense.  "You don't own her!"

            "We're the same person!"  Yosu roared.  "You get out!  She's from my world so she's MINE!  She loves you because she met you first, but it's ME she really loves!  I'M her fate not you!  So leave her alone!"

            Van sprang to his feet, his chair toppling over backwards.  "How DARE you!?  I'll kill you for that!  I love her!  I'll kill you if you try to touch her!"

            "Would that be suicide, Van!?"  Yosu cried.  "Just accept that she belongs with me on Earth!  You go find the Hitomi from your world – I'm sure you're soul mates!  You'll be happy together, but let me have Hitomi!"

            "Never!"  Van's heart was beating hard, memories of Hitomi's double and the deception associated with her flooding him.  What was worse, he remembered the good times they had and the warmth and happiness they shared together.  The possibility of what Yosu was saying being true hurt him deeper and harder than he could stand, and the doubt and fear only fell against the fire to fuel his rage.  "I won't let you take her from  me!  I need her!"

            "Hey Van!!!"  Hakai ran in at full sprint, shoving Yosu completely off his feet.  "Van, Amano says there's a dude out there."

            Yosu got up and looked like he was ready to tear his long-time enemy to ribbons.  "WHAT!?"

            "One of your robot things."  Hakai answered.  "You're supposed to get Escaflowne!  Now get out there and fight!  I wanna see some blood!"

            Van cursed through his teeth and clenched his fists tightly inside his gloves.  "They followed us.  They're coming for us even after all they've done to us."  He stomped out but pulled a quick 180 to level a shaking finger at his double.  "Don't you get anywhere near her!  I'll be back and if you're here I swear -!"  He was too infuriated to finish the statement and left for the hangar leaving Yosu to use his imagination.  Hakai followed on his heels, absolutely delighted with the idea of watching another Guymelef battle.  Yosu was left alone with Hitomi and without thinking twice, he stayed.

                             Escaflowne                                 

            "Your melef is ready."  Vector announced as Torsion arrived in the palace hangar wearing the sling and bandages over her wounds.  "The left arm will be controlled by levers on the right arm.  Your range of motion is still limited though, but it will fly and fight as well as it had before the damage."

            "Good."  Torsion nodded, approaching her machine.  Vector stood aside to let her pass.

            "It is still raining."  He said to the back of her blonde head.  "The rest of Trapan's army is leaving when it stops."

            "How soon will the two of you be ready?"  She asked them.

            "We can leave at any time."  Prestress told her.

            Torsion nodded again.  "Then we shall leave immediately."  Climbing the stairs to her control chamber, she switched the lever and watched as the Maginot opened. 

Vector called up to her.  "Do we leave without the Eye's pendant?  Or any of the other tools the Master plans to use to bend fate?"

            "We won't need them."  Torsion said sounding a little disgusted at the sound of the Master's name.  "We are Draconians, heirs to the kingdom of Gaea and the secrets of Atlantis.  If we arrive at the gate of the Mystic City with nothing but purity in our desires then it should let us in."

            "That sounds even."  Prestress reasoned.  "Then I will ascend my Guymelef." 

He and Vector clambered into their Maginot, their feet and hands strapping into the control sleeves.  Torsion's suit was modified little in that respect.  Her left arm sleeve was removed and replaced with an intricate network of riggings that crossed above, in front and behind her and attached to her right arm controls.  She took a moment to adjust to the new configuration then craned her suit up from its sitting position on the platform.  She moved out to the edge of the hangar where the dirty broken city lay wasted and wet before her.  Beyond this was the dry barren land of Zaibach, and beyond that to the north was Asturia, and lands and seas and finally an icy continent far to the north where the city of her ancestors was waiting.  Glaucus was coming with her, carried in her heart.  She'd learned from him how to fight for something, and studied that lesson well.  This was for the future of a forsaken race, and a world where his memory would not be abandoned.  She turned as her companions lumbered up behind her, one at her left shoulder one at her right.  "Are you prepared to leave this life behind?"

            "I am prepared to follow you, Captain to the ends of the planet."  Vector answered.

            "This life is nothing, leaving it is of no consequence."  Prestress added.  "But the future is uneven, and as a philosopher I am duty bound to see it equalized."

            "Then we will all, dragon gods and preheated souls, realign the true order of Gaea!"  She switched the flight lever with her last two fingers and the propulsion ring ejected seamlessly from her shoulders, lifting her from the ground. The other two followed suit with the right hand switch and hovered in formation behind her.  Torsion frowned at the waiting world.  "To Asgard!"  She cradled the steering lever in the palm of her hand and steered her party out of the palace and up over the city, the rainwater slicking off her armor like sheets of wind.  She felt empowered knowing that she was going to save the world.  She was going to change the fate of Gaea so that twisted selfish men like Trapan, Resultant, and Areolar could not taint the perfect world the Draconians were meant to see.

                             Escaflowne                                 

            News had spread quickly throughout the Merchant ship.  Hakai had joined his double, the cat twins, Amano, Gadess and crew in the cockpit to watch the Pravada's approach.  Yukari and Millerna ran to the balcony outside their meeting room, leaning around the ship and trying to get a better view.  Jiai had rushed to a window in the hall, her woes nearly forgotten with news of the strange melef.  She left her spot to try and find Millerna.  Dryden and Daiji saw the green melef, too from their balcony vantage point at the back of the ship.  They watched as Van rode Escaflowne out of the dock to meet it, his knuckles white on the reins of the dragon and his fury at Yosu and the enemy still burning inside him.  He caught the air and hovered in the Pravada's path, his eyes boring into the green armor of the melef.  "If you want Hitomi, you'll have to get through me first!"  The long sword appeared from the dragon's underside and rose up to challenge him.  "Fight me!"

            Seguir's stomach was churning.  This was the moment of truth, and the first time he'd faced the dragon head on.  Thoughts of the Faction and Ayen kept popping into his train of thought.  He swallowed hard and slowed to hover 100 feet from Van's line of defense.  He left his sword by his side, his arms unusable while his flight boosters were operating.  Instead he opened the grate of his helmet and called to the king.  "I come in peace!  I don't want to fight!"

            "I'll believe that when you prove it!"  Van shouted back.  "But as long as you are with the enemy you have no proof that I'll believe!  Fight me now or leave!"

            Seguir took a shaky breath inside his cockpit.  'This is it', the 35-year-old set his green eyes on the boy, knowing that he only had one choice if he wanted to get inside and warn the Eyes.  He cried to him again.  "If you will not accept me as a friend, then accept me as a prisoner!"  Van blinked in stunned silence.  Seguir locked the boosters and opened the hatch, the chest piece folding open like a platform.  He unstrapped and stepped out onto the plank, dressed in his dirtied Asturian green, wearing the scars of the previous night in his eyes.  His hands were raised and the wind of the mountains blew his hair about his head, rocking the Pravada in its hover.  He and Van locked eyes.  "I Surrender to you!  I am yours!"

To be continued


	18. Episode 18: Truthfulness

Escaflowne: Mirrors 

Episode 18: Truthfulness

"I am yours!" Seguir shouted from the doorway of the Pravada. Van stared, his blackish hair blowing across his face and his hands gripping Escaflowne's reins. He'd come with passion pumping, ready for a fight but was now faced with a strong but visibly worn enemy, his hands raised in the air and his deep emerald eyes staring consciously and determinedly back at him. This had to be some kind of trick.

Allen leaned over Paile's station for a closer look. "What's happening down there?"

"They've stopped sir!" Reeden reported. "It looks like he's surrendering!"

"Surrender!?" Dilandau cried, unpleased.

Hakai didn't quite understand. "C'mon Van! Attack him already!"

Dilandau came off the window and crossed his arms. "Stupid Fanel! What a waste of time."

Merle and Koneko just stood with their faces pressed against the window, Merle's ears fanned as wide as she could get them to pick up any sound.

On a separate balcony Jiai, who was previously searching for Millerna, had run into Dryden and Daiji instead. They had a better view anyway. Jiai leaned on the banister next to Daiji, her wavy dark brown hair moving in the cold mountain air. "Is he? Giving up?"

Daiji nodded. "Seems so."

"Easy fight." Dryden said with a mirrored look of surprise. "My kinda battle."

Jiai leaned around Daiji to the master of the household. "What do we do now?"

Dryden frowned. "I'd say bring him in… but Van looks ready to kill him."

Jiai meddled with her hands in front of her chest: a very Millerna-esque action. "Oh, I hope not."

Daiji looked down to her as she wrung her fingers, then put his hand out to stop her. "Lets head up to the bridge, maybe Allen knows more about what's going on."

Yosu was not totally oblivious but he was trying his best to be. He was sitting in Van's place, holding the hand of a comatose Hitomi. He had a strange feeling running up and down his spine like something was wrong. He sensed it was Van and Escaflowne so he tried to ignore it. He wanted nothing to do with his double just then.

Van frowned deeply, one eyebrow twitching, and shouted at Seguir. "Who have you brought with you!? Who sent you!?"

"I came alone!" Seguir called. "I've left the Faction! And I have information from the inside that I wish to share with you!"

"Share!? The enemy? Share!?" Van was having a hard time dropping his confrontational attitude and refused to believe him. His mind was too full of past offenses. "You chased us out of Asturia! You sold the palace to the Enemy!"

"I regret anything I've done!" Seguir replied. "I have nothing to do with Trapan anymore! I'm ready and willing to offer anything I know to you – " Van looked at him skeptically, sensing a turn in his tone as if there were strings attached to his pitch. The suspicion was soon confirmed. "But I have one request!"

"No Deal!" Van snapped. "I won't bargain with you!"

"I only ask for sanctuary!" Seguir answered. "I have no where to go and no one to fight for! Admission to your side would be my favored choice!"

"I still can't believe you!" Van challenged. "Not after all that you have done to us!"

Millerna and Yukari had watched the confrontation from their balcony and ran up onto the bridge when they heard the exchange. The Queen grabbed Allen's arm. "Is it really Seguir!? My captain of the guard!?"

"Yes." Allen nodded. "He's asking for sanctuary and has offered himself as a prisoner."

"Are you going to take him?" Yukari asked.

Allen leveled his eyebrows. "No, we wont, if Van and I are thinking the same way. Its not worth the risk."

"But you've got to!" Yukari said, firmly. Allen was surprised at her demand, the 16-year-old's brown eyes flaring as if they each had their own corona. "Better to have him in check and locked up than roaming around out there on his own knowing where we are and where we're going!"

"Yukari, you don't know what you are saying…" Allen assured her, sounding big brotherly, "you don't understand the situation. He could be booby trapped, tracked… he could be a spy. Taking him on board could be dangerous."

"Or he could be telling the truth!" Yukari said, frowning. "For crying out loud! Why can't you trust anybody!?" Allen was speechless at that.

"I want you to take him on board!" Millerna cried. "I want to ask him questions – ask him why he's turned against my family when he's been so loyal and kind to us!"

"Millerna – " Allen began in protest but was interrupted.

"Do what she says!" Dryden, Daiji and Jiai had just entered and the man of the house was sounding serious.

Allen turned a disapproving eye on him. "You don't know what could happen!"

"I know what could happen." Dryden responded. "I'm fully capable of logic and reason. I say we bring him aboard. He has information whether he shares it willingly or not."

"This isn't one of your logic puzzles." Allen answered. "We're dealing with reality here."

"I know what could happen and I say do it anyway!" Dryden snapped back.

Allen put his hands on his hips. "If you're ordering this because Millerna wants it, then you are basing your decisions on something irrelevant. We're still dealing with the last time you pulled one of these!"

Millerna whirled on him. "Allen!"

Daiji sensed the sting of the knight's words and put a hand on Dryden's shoulder. "Don't let him get to you. You're the one with the conviction, back it up. You're just as qualified as he is."

Dryden's bushy brown eyebrows set in a look of authority, something Allen and Millerna were not expecting. When he spoke again, his voice was steady and grave. Very powerful. "We are bringing him aboard. It is my ship, it is my responsibility, it is my call. Do what I say."

The native merchant crewmen, including Llave, watched intently. The Crusaders were studying the two men as well, waiting at peak interest to see how their boss would respond. Dryden was the commander. Allen had no choice but to back down. He turned, fuming, and yelled to van out an open window panel. "Take him! Bring him in the Hangar!"

Van turned, outraged. "WHAT!?"

Allen glanced quickly back to Dryden then snarled a little. "Just do it!"

Seguir sighed. After all that… he was in.

The whole assembly minus Yosu and Hitomi were gathered in the docking bay when the Pravada landed. Escaflowne swooped in on canvas wings and Van leapt from its back to confront their captive. The beautiful olive-colored machine rested on one knee, its limbs being chained as soon as possible, binding its great strength and history to the merchant ship. Seguir stepped out and down to them with his hands still in the air. He was met by sword points. The defensive line was headed by Allen, who looked disgusted with the very sight of him. "What are you doing here?"

Seguir felt guilty receiving such a glare, and avoided the malice-laced question as best he could, sounding a little awkward. "You remember me, Sir Allen? I remember you from the palace, and I'm glad you've been here to take care of the Queen." He searched the heads in the crowd quickly and found Millerna standing with Jiai. He smiled and nodded to her. "I'm glad to see that you're all right, your majesty. I tried my best to serve you both then and now… believe me."

"Don't talk to her!" Van roared. "Answer the question! Why are you here!? Is it for Millerna? Did you come to take her or something!?"

"No, never." Seguir insisted. Millerna could not help but have her heart soften on him. She picked up a tangible honesty from him, and the look he had given her seemed to show genuine relief. Yukari's prediction that he was telling the truth seemed to be coming true. She walked around the group, watching him and, perhaps on instinct found herself with Dryden. He took her hand while she wasn't looking and she was suddenly distracted by a warm gummy feeling.

Seguir weighed his options haphazardly and decided to level. He tried to look as convincing as he could. "I know you have identified me as a traitor. And I guess this doesn't look good, but I'm telling the truth when I say that I'm not a part of your enemy anymore."

"Not anymore?" Dryden asked, staring over the lenses of his glasses. "What changed your mind?"

"They murdered all I loved." He answered bluntly, his voice hard. Dryden found some common ground in his tone.

Allen and Van seemed to have some kind of pride riding on this. The knight glared at him. "How can we believe you?"

Van nodded. "What proof do you have that you no longer work for them?"

"I'll tell you everything I know." Seguir answered. "And I'll help you in any way I can. Past that, I'm afraid that's my only proof. That and the fact that I am here. I've surrendered myself and my Guymelef and stand here defenseless with your swords pointed at me."

"If you have no ties now," Daiji asked, "what tied you before?"

"My daughter." He answered, a pang of pain in his voice. The events of that bitter night before were still too fresh. "She was the Eyes' double. I was in it to keep them from hurting her. That failed miserably. Even though we escaped they still killed her." He reached down to the sword at his side. Gadess and Amano reached for the swords at their belts as well as Allen and Van pressed more fiercely toward him. The man stepped back, alarmed, but removed the sheath anyway, holding the covered blade out in front of him. "This proves that Ayen was the Eye's double who lived in the palace." He turned to Van. "Your Highness, this is yours."

When Van didn't move, the weapon was tossed to him. He caught it in one hand, recognizing the weight of it immediately. A quick check of the Fanelian crest on its handle confirmed it was his. He stared at Seguir with a new sense of suspicion and outrage. "Hitomi's Double!?"

"You're daughter is Hitomi's double from Fanelia!?" Jiai cried in shock.

Merle glanced around. "Fakey Hitomi?"

"And you said she'd been killed?" Dryden pried. "When?"

"Last night." Seguir answered. "Tragically…. Horribly."

The threat of Seguir was all but forgotten as everyone exchanged insightful glances. Yukari grabbed Amano's arm, causing his hand to come off the handle of his borrowed sword. "I told you! I knew her double died! I knew that was it!"

Seguir grew concerned. "What's happened!?"

"Hitomi passed out at the same time." Millerna determined. "That has to be the cause!"

"The Eyes!?" Seguir cried frantically. "-Hitomi- There's something wrong with Hitomi!?"

"Stay out of it!" Van snapped at him.

Seguir became angry as well. "I want to see her! Where is she!?"

Allen had a new burst of defensive grit and stepped up to bar his way. "You wont go anywhere near her, Nadeje!"

Seguir begged him. "She's my daughter! I could help! Let me see her, please!"

"No!" Van roared.

"Why not!?" Dryden offered, shouting as well. "How else are we going to fix her!?"

"Dryden!?!" Amano shouted appalled.

Allen fumed. "Now you're going too far, Fassa! I can't let you cross that line!"

At this point the merchant was tired of being told what he couldn't do. "Just give it a chance! How can we say 'no' when we've got no other plan!?"

Daiji had his back. "We gotta exhaust all options!"

"I wont let you!" Van said, his threat blanketing all of them. "We'll find another way!"

"What if there isn't one." Dryden insisted.

"Yeah," Yukari agreed. "You called her, Van and that didn't work. Yosu called her and we all called her and that didn't work either! Maybe she needs someone from THIS side of the connection to bring her back!"

"No!" Allen stood firm.

Jiai grabbed for Millerna. "Allen! Why?"

Yukari had had enough talk. She stormed up to Seguir and grabbed his muddy sleeve. "Come on, we'll take you to her!"

Allen nearly exploded. "Yukari! Get away from him!"

Koneko joined her. "Yeah, Mister, this way!"

Merle was hesitant with a look to Van, but followed. "Neko!?"

Allen flew out after them, hissing in Dryden's face as he passed. "You'll pay if something happens to her!"

"I guess I will." Was the reply, he rooted himself to the spot and watched as the others moved passed.

Millerna tugged his hand and urged him along. "Dryden, come on."

Allen caught up with Gadess and grabbed his shoulder. "I'm going to cut them off, keep your blade on Nadeje! Don't let him do anything!"

"Right Boss."

"I don't like this." Van snarled. "As a matter of fact, I hate it."

The whole group arrived at Hitomi's room like a mob. Yosu jumped up from his chair when they burst inside. He looked to Seguir, then to Koneko and Yukari, his brown eyes frantic. "Who's this!? What's going on here!?"

Koneko grabbed her brother's arm and steered him clear. "Its okay. Don't freak out like Van did."

Yosu proceeded to freak out. "Neko!?! What!? What's going on!?!"

Van tried to push past Amano in the doorway but got stuck. "Yosu! Don't let him near her!"

Seguir noticed none of this. His eyes were on the girl lying on the bed. Her hair was short and light brown, and her clothing was strange, but the shape of her face, even down to the way her eyelid fell over her closed eyes screamed the name of his daughter. The man strode long-legged from the gaggle and sat in Yosu's abandoned chair. He grabbed up her hand, no longer noticing Hitomi at all but only feeling Ayen's fingers in his grip. At his touch, she gasped.

Hitomi had been falling away from warmth and light for a day, plagued by images, sounds and devastating fear that she did not understand. For a time she could hear Van call her name, but she couldn't reach him. After a while the sound had petered out and left nothing but a hollow echo that even now was dissipating in the void of her fall. She gasped as she saw a point of light appear at a distance above her, the white speck the most foreign thing she had ever encountered. Her eyes widened and it stung them. Still she reached out for the light hoping somehow it would stop her fall. "Help! Who's there!? Van!?" The light grew and she saw another cascade of images pass before her eyes. A girl with her face riding a sea of Vans, black wings on her back and the Atlantis pendant in her hand. Asturia and the black melef grabbing the little girl from her mother. The swipe of a sword that ended life. Suddenly the point of light rushed closer and took the form of a man – a burly faceless man with broad wings – coming down for her. She snatched back her hand, still plummeting to no end, but afraid of this phantom she had seen in her dreams. "No! Don't come near! No!" But he sped like a bullet, his muscular arms coming around to grab her and his wings slicing downwards into her darkness. Hitomi screamed as he closed in, hair whipping about a featureless face, and covered her head with her arms. But as she waited for impact the man slowed, his incredible wingspan catching air and floating him down underneath her. She felt his arms come gently, even lovingly under her knees and around her shoulders. He was warm and safe, the white feathers extending like a blanket around her. She relaxed her tightened eyes and eased into his chest. The darkness began to fade away and when she opened her eyes again, everything was blurry, but bright and new as well.

The group had silenced and now stared at her. Her eyes opened slowly, and began to regain their familiar shine. She was in Seguir's arms, just like the vision; her head supported by his arm and her hand clutching tightly to the green of his mud-stained uniform. Her mind came into focus and she realized where she was. Even in the arms of a stranger she could feel an overpowering emotion. Her heart began to beat very fast and her cheeks reddened with one look to his face. "Wh-Who…" But a name was sticking in the back of her mind and her lip trembled as she offered it to the bronze hair and emerald eyes above her. "Daddy?"

Yosu and Van exchanged a sharp glance, but Seguir's face smiled warmly. It seemed to the girl in his grip that he had been healed. "Welcome back to life, Ayen."

Escaflowne

Trapan swept from the throne room, a shroud of black in the torchlight. He had left Lyse, the newly conquered king of Zaibach, bound to his place of honor by the spears of his own personal guard. The irony was both amusing and concerning. The young man under siege was suffering so much more alive than he ever would have been dead. But alas, he never went back on his word, even if it was conflicting with his conscience. His new Tool, or so the King had been dubbed, had just been through a dauntless lecture on what he should and should not do now that he was working for the Faction. It had taken all day, but they had hit most of the basics: do everything the resident Draconian resistance member told him to and do not let the country know that the Faction dictates your every move. It was a simple and affective plan. The question now was who should he leave in charge of his own birth country? Gambero and Haman had each had prominent positions in their respective governments before Trapan had arrived, but no one man among his winged army bore a leadership role in Zaibach except for his Machine, who was, as he recalled, recently deceased. No matter. He had others. The Errander was an option, or should he call him Mutineer? Upon further consideration, perhaps some personal investigation was in order.

Speaking of the devil, himself, Areolar came marching at him from around the corner. Trapan held up his hand to dismiss the soldiers at his right and left and waited as the man of the hour, the new commander of the Zaibachian detachment, stopped in front of him and tried to tamp down his frustration with a salute and a scowl. "Sir! Over half my executive staff is missing! Prestress and Vector never reported to briefs and Torsion has vanished from the infirmary without a trace!"

Trapan was amused and watched the commander steam like a teakettle under his red captain's armor. With a hissing laugh he raised a hand. "Calm yourself, Mutineer, let frustrations such as these pass for now." He narrowed his eyes and locked them with the Commanders. "What is it you truly desire?"

Areolar's own eyes contracted as tightly as the beetle-specks of his superior's. "What I desire?"

"You waste energy on convictions for your underlings." Trapan informed him. "All rules aside, if you had absolute power, what is it that you desire for your ambition to produce?"

Areolar's eyes took on a light that they had never had before, the possibilities of absolute power and accomplishing anything making his head spin. Still he realized that this was a test and answered his leader strongly. "I wish for the reawakening of the true world order. The one fate desired from the start. I'll see the master race take precedence over the weak races of Gaea."

"You say you wish this." Trapan noted. "Your diction precedes your destiny, but would you carry out this task with the same fervor as I have seen you use against obstacles in the past?" One eyebrow arched and Areolar caught his meaning. He had dispatched his greatest obstacle only hours before.

He smirked, thinking back on his deed with smugness. "What use is there for a fallen god? I'll do whatever I have to to see my vision through."

"It may require everything before the end." Trapan announced. Underneath his cloak the jewels on his sword flashed. "You will lead my winged army, Mutineer, as my new second in command. The position has just recently been vacated as I've just decided to place my old second in charge of Zaibach, and my Machine… well… he met with your sword. You are to leave your Zaibachian army here to keep our grip tight and use my personal Guymelef, the Tamarak, to find what its previous loaner failed to obtain." Trapan brought an arm out from is robes, the priceless Atlantican pendant dangling down from his hand and shining with a brilliance that almost hinted pain within its pink heart. Areolar stared at it in shock. This was the power of Atlantis, the key to all their plans and source of their success. Trapan regarded it with kudos for himself. "We must find how Atlantis works, we have the relic of Fried from the Scientist's reign, and the key to the device here in my hand, but the knowledge of how to contort fate is still beyond us. The Eyes may know, but the Merchant knows more. They also have Escaflowne, the Ispano Melef created for Gaea with the blood of a Draconian flowing inside of it." He gave the pendant a jerk and watched as it ticked off second after second. Areolar was completely absorbed with it. As it swung, a desire was growing in his heart to reach out and take it from Trapan. Trapan's coal eyes held no ember. "We have been long delayed to the Master's. He has left his Safehouse. In the Friedian Mountains by now. He senses our position. I will meet him North. In his Mystic City." Areolar watched with horror as the pendant moved back inside Trapan's black shroud, the heavy material smothering all light within him. His brown eyes shot up to meet the face of the snake-like man. "Mutineer, you will leave east. Follow the Eyes and their party. Do not concern yourself with defectors or fallen Heroes. Fate is still in our hands. They will return to the new order as gods, willingly and by their own paths." He moved a hand to his sword. "The Master has foreseen it."

"Yes sir." Areolar answered, automatically. He was dismissed and with a turn of his heel he was gone.

Escaflowne

Hitomi was practically normal now that Seguir was there. She was back to her old self and appeared to be suffering no physical side effects. The rest of he party had elbowed into her room to revel in her miraculous recovery. Van had claimed her, holding her hand and keeping his arm around her shoulder. He continued to watch Yosu out of the corner of his eyes. Jiai, Millerna and Yukari were battling for space on the floor in front of her with the cat girls just behind. Amano stood, nearly glowing with relief and pleasure. Allen was elated as well, but he refused to release himself to the moment and focused intently on Seguir. The prisoner was not accepted as a welcome group member by a long shot, but Hitomi would not let him leave her side. She had the 35-year-old within arms reach from the moment she awoke, even to the point of abandoning Yosu to the wall. The Earther was not pleased, and Seguir felt out of place. He received loving and awestruck glances from his daughter's double, but various degrees of distress and suspicion from the others. He kept his eyes on the floor as much as he could.

"Hitomi are you sure you're alright?" Millerna asked for the ump-teenth time.

"I'm fine." Hitomi said, flustered by all the attention.

"What was it like?" Koneko asked.

"Was it like when it happens to me?" Yukari asked. "Like you were falling into a black hole?"

"Yeah." Hitomi nodded, meekly.

"Were you scared!?" Merle asked in wonderment.

"I guess so…" Hitomi replied.

"I was scared!" Jiai said. "I'm so happy you're okay Hitomi!"

Hitomi's smile betrayed a hint of sadness that Allen caught immediately. "What's wrong, Hitomi? You don't seem at ease."

Van shot his critically analytical brown eyes to the Asturian on the other side of his girlfriend. "Is it him?"

"No, no." Hitomi assured, pointedly. "No, Seguir's fine! Seguir's good."

Van was less than convinced. Suru leaned forward. "Then what's wrong?"

"I just feel – " She narrowed her eyes " – like part of me is missing." Seguir looked up to her again. "I don't feel as much as I used to. I'm neutral. I'm having a hard time feeling happy or scared or anything. If I were a color… I'd be dull. Everything lacks the life it used to have."

Millerna looked up to her captain of the guard and saw him staring at Hitomi with a conflicted and impassioned gaze. She felt heartsick to think was what going on behind those eyes. "It is your daughter isn't it?" Seguir looked to her, becoming a little better when he met compassion on her face. "Hitomi's feeling the death of her double."

"I think that too." Dryden agreed.

Daiji nodded. "Personally, I feel Dryden strong enough as it is. If he were to suddenly dissapear –" He looked to his double intensely, "- It'd be like I was loosing half of my soul or something."

Jiai suddenly panicked and crawled to Millerna's side. "It's true! I feel the same way!"

"I get Allen waves every now and then." Amano said, less than thrilled. "And we don't even like each other." Allen snorted at that.

Yukari put her hand on Hitomi's knee and the two of them met eyes. "Its not so bad being only yourself, Hitomi. I'm alright, I don't feel like I'm always lukewarm. I bet it's just like taking off your coat or your shoes… you're cold for a little while, but you get used to it."

"I hope you're right." Hitomi sighed. "But I hope you're wrong too. Deep down, I'm sad that she died. I only got to see her once in real life. I would liked to have been her friend if things were different."

"Ayen would have felt the same." Seguir said, sadly. "If things were different."

"Ayen?" Hitomi asked. "That was her name? It's a pretty name."

"Why did Fakey Hitomi die?" Merle asked.

Millerna gasped. "Merle! That's an awful question!"

"No I want to know the answer." Allen said offensively. "That and others; like why you betrayed your country."

"And why Hitomi's dou – Ayen played me for a fool in my own palace!" Van added.

"And who are you working for and what do they want." Amano added.

"And why they're so interested in the Power of Atlantis." Dryden said stiffly.

Millerna and Hitomi both seemed defensive but Seguir hung his head. "I promised if you let me on your ship I would tell you everything, and I will." He shifted in seat. "But it is a long story and it might take a while."

"I got time." Daiji said.

Hitomi focused on Seguir's face, searching him. Van disliked how strangely she'd turned her attention to the man and tightened his grip on her shoulder. It broke her concentration. Seguir paused with his fingers laced. He stared as his thumbs tapped together. "I guess I should start from the beginning. The very beginning. I don't know how much all of you know – I'm aware of some are probably more educated than others but – " he scanned from Dryden to Van and was given a start by the young king's glare, "-but – I – back in ancient times Gaea was ruled by a powerful race of angelic beings called Draconians…"

This was old news, but Millerna was fascinated. "We know about the Draconians from the last war, but how do you know?"

"I am one." He answered.

Everyone stopped and exchanged glances with various people. Van jumped to his feet. "No you're not! I don't believe it!"

Hitomi was appalled at his violent reaction. "VAN!?"

"First the invaders on the ship and now you!" His eyebrow was twitching, the sense of betrayal growing ever stronger. "Show me your wings!" He put a hand to the royal sword at his belt. "SHOW ME!"

"Alright." Seguir complied, calmly, coming to stand as well. He was nearly a foot taller than Van, and reached up to unfasten the decorative Asturian shoulder clasps with a little slouch in his stance. "If you promise not to kill me."

"Stand down Van." Dryden said.

The king shot him a nasty look and tightened his hold on the handle. The black fell down off Seguir's shirt. There were two rectangular holes in the lower layer through which Hitomi could see his toned back, his skin was still muddy from the night's storm. He turned and looked to her before doing any more. "I'm sorry if I hit you, Perda always said my wingspan was dangerous." Fluidly and immaculately his wings spread: a bouquet of white feathers Hitomi watched enraptured as the clouds of white grew and expanded to fill the entire room, their purity gathering all light into them as if desiring to regain the sunlit sky. His bronze hair and green eyes shone like starlight as the feathers arched up, unblemished with either mud or blood from the events of the night. Everyone stared in wonder and adoration as the glow faded and he relaxed, letting them droop a little to bray his current mood. "Well?"

"He's one alright." Merle 'ooo'ed.

Koneko's amber eyes were sparkling. "I want some!"

Dryden whistled form the back of the room. "Very impressive!"

"Thank you." He said with indifference. He swept one in a shrug. "They've been nothing but a curse to me so far."

"How so?" Millerna asked.

"I'll tell in a minute." He answered. "But if you're all convinced, I'd rather put them away." He swept them behind his back. "They're a little to white for me right now."

Allen was speechless so his double appealed to Van. "Content?"

Van growled and sat back down in a huff. Hitomi withdrew from his displeasure.

The younger members of the audience were sorry to see Seguir's wings go away. Even Dilandau was captivated by them.. In moments the Asturian was re-buttoning his shirt and retaking his seat. "I'm from a long line of Draconians extending back even to Atlantis itself. My wife Perda was also a Draconian."

"Then that means that Fakey Hitomi was one too!" Merle cried.

"That's right." Seguir replied. "We all lived in Palas like normal citizens, never showing anyone our secret and perfectly happy." He smiled to himself. "That was the way life should be; beautiful and loving. Ayen went to school in town. Perda had started a book club. I was head of the palace guard, happy in my work. With my wages I could afford luxuries and while we were at peace I was home enough that we could spend a lot of time together." He looked up to Hitomi with a grin. "Sometimes for holiday we would take trips to the mountains where no one could see us and we'd fly." The memory seemed sweet and he closed his eyes. "Ah Perda was gorgeous when she was flying. Just like a real angel. And Ayen was a piece of heaven. She had trouble learning to fly I remember, she inherited her mother's dainty wings and couldn't get any lift. I guess its good to have them as broad as mine when it comes to stuff like that."

The audience listened patiently, many of them forgetting for the moment how much they had distrusted him. He seemed so genuine.

"I guess it was one of these vacations that started the whole mess. Draconians are scattered all over the place… most don't even know there are others nearby because its an unwritten rule that we should keep our wings a secret. So when six months ago I let slip my vacation plans to go to the mountains to Haman I didn't think it would be a big deal, but he kept pressing me and pressing me for what we were planning to do out in the middle of nowhere. I thought it was strange… and I didn't want to give anything away… since for all I knew my family were the only Draconians in the area and I certainly didn't know HE was one…"

"Haman's a Draconian too!?!" Millerna cried.

Seguir rubbed his face. "Yeah."

"Did you find you out?" Yukari asked.

Seguir nodded. "He figured it out himself somehow. Once he learned we were Draconians it was as if we'd joined some secret society. He invited himself over to meet Perda and Ayen the day before we left and again when we got back. He was particularly interested in Ayen…" He looked now to Millerna. "No offense, your majesty, but I never liked him. He's double handed. And I discouraged him from getting to friendly with my daughter. Perda could look after herself, but Ayen was only fourteen. I wouldn't want anything to…happen…" He swallowed hard. "Haman started it all. It was he who brought the Faction to the palace."

"The Faction?" Allen asked.

Seguir nodded again. "They're an underground resistance group made of Draconians. They are led by a mysterious head called the Master and are trying to bring Draconians back into power over Gaea. The field martial is an evil man named Trapan. It was he who killed Ayen."

"Does this 'Master' have a name?" Dryden, asked.

"I'm sure he does." Seguir answered. "But I couldn't tell it to you. Trapan is the only one who ever speaks to him. Somehow he must be in direct communication with the Master because he always seems to know what the Master's next move is. Either that or he takes his own liberties with his orders."

Jiai was captivated by the story. "What do you mean by that!?"

Seguir looked gently on her, recognizing his young queen in her face. "Trapan has killed a lot of people." He looked down again at his hands. "Many of whom were innocent but in the way. If the Master is a Draconian with any sense of who the Draconians were, he wouldn't slaughter humans like meat."

"Well, go on." Yukari prompted. "Go on with the story! The Faction came to Asturia… then what?"

"Yes." Seguir resumed. "Trapan must have found that Haman was a god and recruited him into the Faction. I bet it wasn't hard to do, Lis is smart but he's power hungry and quite literally blind when it comes to selfish gain. He'd jump off a bridge if he thought it'd get him a promotion. He didn't sell me out right away which surprises me, more than likely he was afraid of the competition. In any case Trapan didn't come knocking on my door looking for me."

"Who did he want?" Koneko asked.

Seguir found the story easier to tell with all of them so deeply engrossed in it. Merle, Koneko and Suru were staring wide-eyed anticipating every word. He answered with a little pause. "Trapan must have told him that they were looking for the Eyes' double. Haman recognized who they needed, considering that Ayen matched Hitomi's description perfectly. He chose a day when he knew I would be tied up at the palace and came for her."

Hitomi gasped, a memory was surfacing in her mind. It was a memory that was not her own. She covered her mouth to keep from being noticed and tried to focus on Van's hand on her knee. She was afraid she was going to have another Yukari episode as she watched images from a foreign past dance across her closed eyelids. Seguir's voice narrated it all.

Hitomi found herself in a simple Asturian house wearing a nice Asturian dress. Her hair was in Ayen's favorite style; hanging in front of her face and down her back to mid spine. A woman with brown hair was working over by the stove, her locks pulled u pin a half bun. She paused in her chore and turned to Hitomi, a breathtaking gleam in her ash-blue eyes. "Are you going to finish, Ayen or stand there and daydream all day?"

Hitomi gasped as the image of the cloaked woman flashed into sight, a red sky stretching behind her shrouded face. A little too smoothly the figure faded back to the kind woman smiling at her. Hitomi noticed that she'd been standing before a half-set table with a plate in her hand.

"Finish setting the table and make sure to wash up, okay? I want to have dinner ready before your father gets home. He's been working late all week and I want everything to be relaxed, ready and completely absent of stress for him when he gets here."

Hitomi placed the dish in its spot. 'That must be Perda.' She looked back and stared at the woman as she hummed through her work. 'And I must be Ayen. This is Ayen's memory! That means she's my mother!' Taking a second for closer inspection, Hitomi realized that, while beautiful, Perda didn't seem familiar as the double of someone she knew from Earth. What became familiar however was her vision of a mother and child running hand in hand from attacking melefs. Hitomi could almost see Perda burst into a flurry of feathers before her. She fell back against the wall and stared fear-stricken at the housewife. The gurgling, nauseating sense of grave reality slowly oozed through her stomach. This was her vision, what she was living right now. She'd see it all for what it was… and she already knew the ending. "Oh no."

Perda turned to her daughter, oblivious to how soon the end of her life truly was. "What's wrong, Ayen? Is something the matter?"

"N-No, I – " Hitomi tried to stammer out an excuse but was halted when a knock came at the door.

Perda turned toward it, wiping her hands on the apron that was hanging on the wall instead of down her front. "Is that Seguir already? Its awful early." She gave her hands a final wipe on the hips of her dress and headed out of the kitchen to answer it. She touched Ayen's shoulder as she passed. "What if he's gotten a break. Wouldn't that be fabulous!? Maybe he can stay home tomorrow and we can take our first picnic or something? That'd be fun!" The knock came again and she laughed at herself. "I guess I should answer the door before I make plans."

Hitomi's blood ran cold. She watched as the woman approached the door, the world seeming to warp into slow motion as Hitomi's mind searched the deepest darkest chasms for what could be behind it. A Guymelef? A red-starched sky and a field of cracked earth? The silhouette of a dying city braced against a bloody sunset? Perda's hand was on the knob and with a twist she pulled it slowly open. The memory began to turn toward the surreal. An otherworldly white light poured in through the crack in the door, the creaking hinges seemed to deafen her to all but the voices inside her head. She could swear she heard a hissing sound in those hinges, and as the portal expanded a black shadow cut a frightening figure, cutting the light and poised like a hooded cobra about to strike.

Hitomi was suddenly thrown back into her own symbolic pit of darkness. The world around her that was Ayen's memory was left behind along with what felt like her stomach and her sense of direction. She suddenly felt as if she was falling, her hair again short and her school uniform whipping rapidly about her body as if caught in a dizzying descent. Her pendant rose up off her chest, its presence unexplained but significant as she watched it swell with otherworldly power and explode about her in pink light. She reached out with arms and legs to stop her fall but there was nothing to find. Instead she was subjected to a stream of images like a slideshow of Ayen's memories. She saw a dark shadow looming and steering as she cowered below it. She saw Seguir smiling in radiance at the top of the world, his shining wings catching a breeze and the golden light of a sunset. She saw Perda comforting her at a time when she was small and had scraped her knee.

There were Guymelefs stomping across a fire-scorched plain. There was a rush and Hitomi felt the invigorating and strictly Draconian sensation of bottled energy in her body, her back tense and craving release. There was a gush and flow as feathers shot from her back, wings arching up and spreading her awareness six feet behind her. She could control them as limbs, she could feel muscle attached to them, and instinctively she tried to use them to catch wind and stop her fall. Her eyes were closed tight as she fell back first into oblivion, tears rising up off her face, taken by the speed. Senses told her she was loosing feathers and as she opened her green wind-watering eyes she saw that they were black, tracing a trail of descent upward into a skyless night.

In an instant she was on the ground, being carried out of Fanelia by a sea of warrior Vans. She looked at each face, all identical and set with a fiery look that seemed ready for killing. A hand reached out and tore the Atlantis pendant from her neck with a snap.

Now she faced a new memory: suspended in air she was faced with the iron image of a Guymelef, its head in the shape of an Earthen horse. Trapan was standing on its head, wings too pure for his heart extended on either side of him. A cleama claw glinted in the arm of his melef and slashed down toward her. She covered her face and could hear the echoes of Seguir's voice "Ayeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen!"

She felt the world pause as the man's voice filtered in from real-time, narrating still the story that she was witnessing firsthand. "Haman sent Trapan to my house after Ayen while Haman kept me busy at the Palace. Perda must have sensed his evil…she and Ayen ran…"

Hitomi was darting through the woods now, Ayen's dress caught up in her legs. The brown-red bangs in her eyes and Perda ahead, leading and holding her tightly by the hand. "Hurry, Ayen, hurry!"

"M-Mom!" Ayen stammered, rocked by the footfalls.

"We're going to the castle!" Perda said quickly over her shoulder. "Seguir can use the guards! I won't let that man get you, I promise!"

Hitomi's heart was beating fast in the sprint and in the moment. She could feel Ayen's adrenaline taking control of her, yet she felt herself thinking; how many times had she seen this? The mother and the child? How many times had she seen its outcome? How many times had she awoken with this heartbeat in her throat and the ghastly sense of fate clawing away in her mind.

No escape.

She turned over her shoulder and looked back as they ran, fearful that the sky above them would be ablaze and an army of mechanical men would be closing in fast. She watched as an obsidian melef, stallion headed and all-too familiar, rose above the treetops. Ayen screamed.

Perda turned quickly, her ashen eyes contracting as she saw the machine move toward them. A pair of Maginot appeared at one and eleven o'clock. Perda came to a stop and stared, she tugged at her daughter's hand. "Wings, Ayen!"

Hitomi turned quickly to her, a pang of cold terror accompanying the revisited image of the end of her mother's life. "I wont leave you here!"

"I'm coming with you!" Perda released her own dragon wings, the feathers lie silk arching among the wave of her umber hair. Hitomi gasped before the same rushing feeling overcame her again and the memory of Ayen released her wings as well. This time hers were white, and with a great leap she took off from the ground, feeling a great cushion of air propel her. Perda joined her on the wind, the two of them rising rapidly upward as their enemies closed in around them.

From inside his cockpit, Trapan sneered. "Gods! We have gods here!" A cleama claw formed from the right arm, causing the pipes and modified tubes to pulse within the ancient forearm, its armor burned and scarred by the technology added beyond the intention of the Ispano.

Perda rose slowly along Hitomi's left-hand side. The teenager tried to gain altitude but was having a difficult time, her dainty wings too small for the rapid ascent she needed. Suddenly Trapan's claw split the air, Perda batted away from her and down into the dirt of the nearby street with a crack and a cloud of dust. Hitomi turned and screamed, tears streaming from her eyes. "Mom!!!!"

One of the Maginot reached out its hydraulic hand and grabbed the 14-year-old as she stared down. Hitomi felt her wings being bent against her back as the hand closed in a fist around her. One arm was pinned to the side, the other left to claw and shove at the machine. She turned to stare at the faceless grate of the Maginot, a nameless enemy tightening its hold on her.

Perda trembled, shoving herself from the ground to focus upward. Her immaculate wing was broken and drooped at a sickening angle from her back, her face was bloody from impact wounds. "Ayen!?!"

Hitomi turned back and reached out to her. "Mom!!!"

The Tamarak loomed back into the scene. "What a painful exchange." Trapan was sniggering behind his grille. "A Young girl in so much pain… what kind of god would I be if I did not remedy her?" The claw flashed and grew into a blade, shining in the sunlight. The melef aimed and fired, piercing the broken woman with the lance. Her death was instant.

"MOM!!!" Ayen cried, her agony streaking her cheeks and her emerald eyes contracting tightly as the bloody stream was returned to the Tamarack's modified arm. Ayen's heart was breaking and Hitomi could feel every heartstring snap in her chest. The painful smashing of her wings was forgotten and they vanished back into her back. The fist began to carry her away.

Hitomi began to thrash, rapt with panic and fear. "No!" She tried to shove herself out of the metal grip, just like in her dreams, but as always it was in vain. She screamed louder and louder as her desperation mounted.

No Escape! No Escape!

Suddenly she opened her eyes and spotted the form of a muscular man, wings broad and strong, a torn shirt blowing about his knees from the belt of his Asturian uniform. It was Seguir. It was her father.

"I found them overcome…" his voice narrated. "I found Perda dead in the street, and a nameless evil carrying my only daughter away from me. I was acting without thinking, my wings had appeared in a fit of emotion and only focusing on getting Ayen back, I shot for her…"

Down he came, like a torpedo. Ayen was shocked beyond reason, seeing him come at deadly speed. She threw her free arm up to brace for impact. Hitomi flashed back to the many visions she'd had of this figure coming toward her and the fear she had felt. As she felt his arms come up under her and the strength in that grip she realized it was not of him but of the situation. With adrenaline-fueled strength he pried the fingers apart with his feet as he took Ayen up against his chest. She took to his bare neck as tight as she could and with a mighty sweep of his wings they shot away. Trapan spotted them, a speck of white against the mountainous backdrop. He threw up his modified arm and a stream of liquid metal raced after them.

Hitomi felt an icy stream of it snake around her waist. It raced its way up between them, binding Seguir across the chest and roping around his shoulders to form a viney net. With a powerful surge they were thrust apart, the gray stream splitting down the middle and reeling them back toward the Tamarak and its sniggering pilot.

Hitomi reached with every shred of hope toward Seguir, their hands yards away from each other but their eyes matched with pleading looks and their hearts wishing as hard as they could for fate to save them. Ayen's fingers raked air as she called "Daddy!" with the same earnestness. There was no way her arm alone would cross the gap.

She felt a warm hand take hers, its fingers closing around her twitching hand with a familiar, reassuring strength. When she looked up she was back in her room and the real Seguir had her hand cloaked in his. As he looked at her she noted how much older and tired he looked than in the memories. "Hitomi? Are you okay?"

Her lip was trembling. Van was holding tightly to her shoulders. Apparently in her venture she'd reached to Seguir for real and found her hand on his knee. Everyone else watched her closely. Dilandau's eyes began to ache and he turned away.

"I saw it…" She stared intently into his emerald eyes, the desires of her last moments as Ayen, the desires of the last moments of Ayen's life, beating strong in her heart. "I saw everything! I was just there! As you spoke I remembered… I – " She broke from Van's grip and lunged to throw herself around her father, sobbing. Seguir took her up with alarm, but could smell his daughter near his head and lost all apprehension. Hitomi tightened her arms around him, weeping bitterly into his muddiness. "It was terrible! It was terrible!!! I watched her die and you came but he caught us… It was awful, I was so scared! I was…" She broke down into him, releasing all she and Ayen's pooled emotions.

Van was not pleased, but didn't make a move. Everyone else was quiet in the awkward moment. Allen uncrossed his arms again, pouting. Daiji shifted weight and leaned back against the wall. "Apparently that melancholy of hers is solved."

Yukari had her hands pressed over her mouth, running over the events of his story. He'd stopped telling right after his plunge for Ayen. Only Hitomi knew the outcome and she lie crying against him. The redhead took a hold of her boyfriend. "Oh my gosh, you were attacked in your own home!?"

Amano nodded. "Attacked, but you arrived just in time to save her… you were her hero."

Seguir's eyes took on a look of pain that swam with deeply wounded tears. "Please, don't call me that."

Both Millerna and Jiai had tears running down their faces. Merle leaned forward and repositioned her tail beneath her. "So.. what happened next?"

"Yeah, " Koneko seconded, "did you get caught?"

"Trapan caught us." Seguir answered. "He caught us with his cleama claw and pulled us apart."

Merle jumped up. "Holy cow! Did he hurt you!?"

Yukari frowned. "You mean more than he already had?"

"He hurt us, but not like you think." Seguir said. "He needed Ayen because she was Hitomi's double, but he kept me alive because I was a Draconian and put me to work in the palace while he flew Ayen away in his ship. It hurt me more than I can say to know that Ayen was at the mercy of that man."

"This Trapan dude sounds cool." Hakai said from the corner by Yosu. He turned to his 16-year-old double. "Yeah Dil? You think I'm right."

Dilandau growled, rubbing his temples, his teeth clenched. "Shut up, kid, I don't care."

Hakai was struck dumb and did as he said.

Seguir bowed his head, becoming steely. "He's not 'cool' in any way." Hitomi slumped off him and returned to Van who turned her head to his shoulder with one gloved hand. Seguir stared gravely at the blond boy. "He is a maniacal leader who sees himself superior to everyone, even other Draconians. When he kills he claims that it is out of concern for the victims welfare, seeing them better off dead than in pain, but I don't think he can even conceive the feelings of others. Its purely his desire that drives him, nothing or no one else."

Dilandau hissed from the wall. "Lucky."

"He thought he was above other Draconians?" Koneko cried. "Was he anything special? I get the idea he didn't deserve it."

"Didn't you say he was the only one who spoke to your 'Master'?" Dryden recalled. "Perhaps he was special."

"No, he was nothing." Seguir explained. "Yes he was the only one to speak to the master but even then he only called him 'The Master'. No one, not even Haman or Gambero knew the Master's real name. Truthfully, we were never really sure who were members of the Faction unless we met face to face. Trapan never used anyone's true names. He always referred to members with pseudonyms or attribute titles. He could lecture you about who among his ranks were warriors and who were idiots and you would never know exactly who he was referring to unless you were in the room with them when he addressed them. And his smile was devious… you felt insulted at the sight of him." Seguir grimaced. "He was detestable… that's all I can say about him."

"What did you call people?" Merle asked, confused and curious. "A psuedo-whatis?"

"He gave them fake names." Yukari explained.

"What kind of names?" Koneko pried.

"Let me see…" Seguir searched for an example and found the room full of them. Half this group had been spoken of by Trapan. It was almost alarming in that moment to realize who he was sharing space with. "Hitomi… Hitomi was 'The Eyes' because of her abilities in the past." His eye moved from her to Van. "Van's blood made him the 'Dragon King' or just 'Dragon' if he is being referred to as possessor of Escaflowne." He found Millerna and smiled at her. "You were the 'Child Queen' because of your age." His eye then traced its way across the floor to Merle. "You were simply 'the cat'."

"Hey! I'm not a pet or anything!" Merle protested.

Seguir looked to Allen next. "Sir Allen, you were 'The Knight', and Mr. Fassa, you were 'The Merchant'."

Dryden was astounded. "I'm surprised I even came up."

"Mostly when he talked about information gathering." Seguir answered. "I don't know if you are aware, but that brain you have is valuable. You have researched Atlantis more thoroughly than any other person alive at present. You might be as important to the Master's plan as Hitomi or Lord Van. I don't know what lengths Trapan will go to to get all of you, or at least to get what he wants from you."

Dryden thumbed the scab on his cheek. "I've got an idea."

"But if he told everyone about these plans – " Millerna fretted, "then we have an army trying to find us!"

"Not necessarily," Seguir said, reassuringly, to her. "I was at least somewhat in the know about al of you from working so close to you. I figured out for myself your true identities. There are varying degrees of intelligence among his ranks, I don't know how many could put the pieces together, and the general soldiers for the most part had no idea who or what he was talking about. Especially if they were unaware of all you went through half a year ago. And even though Haman and I worked closely together we could only piece together a portion of it. And we didn't have much connection with other Factionaries to pool information. I guess that was part of Trapan's plan as well."

"So Trapan called everyone by names and spoke in riddles." Yosu reviewed. "And he wants to rule the world."

Hitomi wiped her eyes and spoke into Van's shirt. "That's not right. No ruler would harass his subjects like that…"

"What kind of dictatorship would we have if a selfish totalitarian took over Gaea!?!" Allen cried. "It'd be a slave state!"

"It'd be a massacre." Seguir clarified. "Trapan will kill anyone in his way to make it to the top, and probably anyone else who doesn't seem to be benefiting from his reign."

"I don't care if it's about Draconians or Humans or what –" Koneko announced, "you can't kill the people you rule. Who would you rule then? No one's gonna like him if he operates like that, and it sounds like then he'll just end up killing everybody."

"That's a good point." Amano agreed.

Hakai slumped against the wall. "That's a stupid plan."

"So okay," Jiai prompted, "Trapan took you and Ayen, what then?"

Seguir returned telling. "As I said, he wanted to use Ayen for his plan to get Hitomi's pendant. He made me continue my work at the palace in order to try and sway Millerna closer to the Faction."

Allen growled from his place in the crowd. Millerna looked back to him over her shoulder. Seguir waited until he could make eye contact with her before continuing. "I did the best I could, your highness. I tried hard to be as inconspicuous a glitch in their design as possible while still foiling Trapan's plans."

"Why not just blow the whole thing wide open?" Yosu asked.

"My hands were sort of bound." Seguir answered. "Trapan told me that if I did anything wrong he would punish Ayen in my place. I couldn't let that happen."

Koneko's amber eyes were wide. "What did you do instead!?"

Seguir found her charming and directed his answer down to she and her friends on the floor. "Well, to start, I told Haman that I was the only one Trapan would talk to. That way Haman wouldn't hear our orders directly from the source. I made it a habit to distort them just enough so that they would fall through. For example, Trapan reported that the forces in Zaibach needed strengthening so he instructed us to make King Aston send a group of soldiers…conveniently any Draconians we could find…to Zaibach so they could join the Faction. Instead of telling Haman that, I told him that we were supposed to help the King find a reason to send forces to Zaibach. I knew that if Haman came to the ill king's side and said 'We need this now' Aston would more than likely agree. Instead, by trying to lead conversation the King said 'no' and Trapan did not get his forces. Sometimes my tactics worked, but not always, and by the time all of you arrived, the Faction had doubled its size and its strength. I watched Millerna like a hawk, intent to keep her safe from Trapan, and snuck around behind Haman's back to provide escapes and safety points for her."

"We caught you and the old guy talking in the library." Koneko reported. "Suru and me. You were talking about how we weren't supposed to get to Fanelia."

"You girls were there!?" Seguir cried, astonished. "You must be very good spies – I had no idea you were there." Koneko swelled with pride.

"But we did escape from Asturia." Millerna said.

Seguir nodded. "I focused the guards on the interior and pulled most of the forces out of the levi-ship dock so you had less of a chance of getting caught. Unfortunately the direct orders were for all the ships to be secured. Haman took care of that so I-"

"You undid the locks!" Hitomi cried. Van jumped at her voice in his ear and stared at her. She pointed. "You gave us that chance to escape by making sure the locks weren't all secure on the Crusade! That was you!"

"That's right." Seguir answered. "I figured that since Sir Allen was with you you would probably end up taking his ship."

"But you chased us out of Asturia in that melef!" Allen accused. "Why do that if you were on our side the whole time?"

"I was being summoned to Fanelia anyway." Seguir answered. "I purposely passed your ship when you left for Chesario. Unfortunately I paid the price for that."

Millerna was concerned. "What did they do!?"

"Trapan considered the fact that I didn't follow you, that you got out of Asturia at all, a failure on my part. He punished me by not letting me see Ayen even as we stood in the same room."

"That's right, Fakey Hitomi was living at the palace then." Merle recalled. "Was she following Trapan's orders the whole time?"

"Yes, he needed her to infiltrate the Palace in Fanelia and get the Power of Atlantis for him. After being held prisoner on his flagship for some time she was sent to Lord Van pretending to be Hitomi. She actually did get the pendant… if all had gone according to plan she would probably still be working there, although Trapan more than likely would have taken the pendant for himself by now."

"I remember that time." Van scowled, still smarting from the deceit. "I was so easily fooled – why couldn't I see?"

"It was easy, Van!" Hitomi said, taking his hand. It was the first real sign of affection she'd shown since waking from her coma. "She and I were the same person! How were you supposed to know that it wasn't me, especially if she claimed to be?" He diverted his eyes and she squeezed his hand. "Don't be mad at yourself. I'm not mad at you."

"What do you mean you were the same person?" Seguir asked.

"We think the doubles are a result of copying everything from Earth." Daiji told him. "That includes its fate and its people. Everyone born on Gaea is also born on Earth."

Seguir creased his brow. "I'm not sure about that hypothesis."

"Do you know a more accurate account of it?" Dryden asked, hopefully. "We are just theorizing here, anything you know for sure would be more than welcome."

"No, I don't have a better explanation." Seguir said. "There were stores passed down in my family line about Doubling and how for everyone alive on Gaea an echo exists on the Mystic Moon, but copying fate…that's a bizarre idea."

"If you think about who we're talking about its not impossible." Dryden noted. "The Draconians did create Gaea and they also knew how to manipulate fate. Whose to say they couldn't copy it?"

"Lets debate about this later." Yosu prompted. "I'm still waiting for the part where you had nothing to do with Trapan anymore."

"Actually, I was almost there." Seguir resumed. "After meeting and getting reprimanded by Trapan I decided that I wasn't going to stand for it anymore. I snuck through the palace, found Ayen and we left. She took Atlantis and Van's sword with her."

"Why?" Suru asked.

"I think she just forgot to take the pendant off, but she took Van's sword to remember him by." He looked to the king. "No matter how you feel about my Ayen or your Hitomi, Ayen loved you Lord Van. She was very sorry to hurt you, but she had no choice. She was facing the same thing I was: if she did anything wrong then Trapan would punish me. We were lucky to escape with our lives in the chaos you created in your escape and headed for Deidlas." He took a deep breath. "We weren't in Deidlas very long before Trapan's task-force found us. Four Maginot and Trapan's personal melef – the black on with the beast-head – found us hiding in the woods. We fled to the Ventrags and then to Zaibach, knowing they were looking for us."

Amano looked back over his shoulder to Dryden. "I bet that was when they attacked you." The Merchant was not looking pleased with the tragic memories.

"You all arrived then in Zaibach," Seguir said, "just as Trapan's forces did. Ayen and I tried to escape in the Pravada but Trapan cornered us in his black melef, the same one he used to attack my home and my wife, the same one he sent after us when we escaped. It was with that melef that he snatched Ayen from me and killed her." Hitomi gasped, seeing the event pass at top speed before her eyes. A melef, the sky, the ground, the claw, her wings, the Pravada standing on one side of her and the obsidian monster with the earthen horse's head on the other. She tried to steady her fall with wings catching the pollution of a crumbling city. "He stole the pendant and threw her into the air, then swatted her out of the sky." Hitomi could feel her wings breaking, she could feel her body cleaving, the last moment of life s pent reaching, desiring, wishing to return to the shape of her father's Guymelef just beyond her grasp.

The girl shuddered and felt herself begin to fall gain, back into the darkness that seen earlier that day. She clung to Van and he steadied her, forcing the gathering black fog from her tortured mind. Van pulled her into an embrace. "Its' okay, Hitomi. You're you. You're alive and you've got me, okay? I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

Seguir was quiet, staring at his hands. The others waited for Hitomi to calm down. Seguir's face seemed much older than 35-years. "After that he expected me to rejoin the Faction willingly. But I'll never go back. Trapan has done too much to me and my family to expect me to rejoin. That's why I came here. I want to fight him if that is what you're doing. And I want to protect Hitomi and Millerna. Hitomi is all I have of Ayen, if you permit me, I promise to see you through to the end."

Hitomi was ready to take him at his word, but the administrative party for the most part was still skeptical. Allen made the first move. "I think we need to talk this over. Dryden…" he turned to the head of the house, "do you have a dungeon or something in this place?"

Jiai and Hitomi cried out. "Dungeon!?"

"That's too harsh!" Millerna agreed.

"I don't have a dungeon." Dryden told him with a twang of disgust on the final word. "It's not often that a PEACEFUL ship would have a DUNGEON."

"You at least have a brig." Allen shot him. "Every ship should have a brig."

"I'm not in the practice of putting my staff behind bars." Dryden replied. "No, I have no brig, if you want to lock him up, lock him in his room. There's an extra one on this deck, he can have that."

Allen was aghast but snapped his head around, his long blond hair flopping over his shoulder. "Fine, call someone to take him away and lock him in your plush guest room if that is how you want to treat a potentially dangerous person."

"I'll take him." Hitomi volunteered. She stood and Van gaped at her as if she was being a martyr.

"Hitomi!?!"

"Come on, Mr. Nadeje," Hitomi beckoned, not sure exactly what to call the father of her double. He stood and followed her out, threading through the dense crowd to get to the door. Allen gave him an acid glare with pinpoint eyes. Amano and Yosu watched him with different degrees of suspicion. He felt like he was on trial – on trial and already convicted – and shrunk down a little. Hitomi avoided all the negativity in the many pairs of eyes. Daiji and Dryden were by the door and had to move so that Hitomi could get at the handle. Seguir looked up and received a nod from the merchant that gave him a little more reassurance. Once he and Hitomi were outside the door, he felt like the boundaries of the universe had just expanded back to normal size after being constricted into an 8 by 10 foot space.

"Hitomi?"

She topped, turning slowly to face him, feeling strange.

He let his shoulders sag. "I wanted to say, well, I guess…I should start by saying I'm sorry." She looked up to him, recognizing the family resemblance in his eyes. "I'm sorry Ayen died. I – I know its been hard on you."

"It's been hard on you." She told him. "You don't have to apologize."

He bowed his head deeper. "I have much more to apologize for, but I won't trouble you with that. I'll speak it to the night, maybe Ayen will hear me."

Hitomi looked to the floor, her eyes dancing with more tears and the corners red.

He looked up again. "And I apologize in advance, if I ever call you Ayen, or ask you things she would know or appeal to you as I would her, or it I ever expect from you the same I would from her. Just so that If I ever do, remember I'm sorry."

Hitomi wiped her eyes on her sleeve and tamed a quivering lip before saying anything. "Your- Your room is over here." She led him to the end of the hall and opened the door. "They – They're really nice, you'll like them."

"Thank you." He said, weakly and entered, waiting for her to lock it behind him.

Instead she hung onto the door, peering in through the frame. "You can call me Ayen if you feel like you need to." He looked up with a gasp at her pooling eyes. "…and, when I felt like I wanted to speak to the night, there was an observation deck on the Crusade that was perfect. I'm sure a ship this size would have something like that."

"Hitomi?" He stepped toward her and she came out from behind the door.

"Can I stay here with you?" She asked. "I don't wan to go back where they'll just fight about whether or not you're telling the truth. I know you are. I saw the whole thing and I –" She paused. "I'm not strong enough to fight with everyone. I'm so tired of hearing everyone arguing over me, about me, about you – Please, can I stay here with you?"

He smiled, relieved and blessed, and welcomed her in with arms open toward her. "Of course, Ayen, of course."

She flew in and hugged his chest, feeling a little less empty and one sided in his embrace.

"What do you mean 'Do I have a Dungeon'!?!" Dryden cried. "Does your ship have a dungeon!?"

"It has a brig." Allen replied. "Just in case we pick up any stow-aways or wandering criminals. What would you do if a thief were suddenly on your ship? Cut off his hands?"

"Definitely not!" He replied. "I'd turn him into the local authorities – I'm sure they have Dungeons – while he's on board I'll put him under guard. If he's really dangerous I'll lock him in a closet or something. Its not like he's going to jump overboard. Not everyone is bloodthirsty. Especially Nadeje."

"So you believe him?" Amano asked.

"Yes, I believe him." Dryden said calmly. "I believe that he's been an unwilling part of something we need to become experts at. He seems more than willing to help and I'm ready to let him." He looked back to Allen. "Heaven knows, if he is telling the truth and there's a winged army hunting for us we'll need all the help we can get."

"What if he's a mole?" Van proposed. "He told a fantastic story but he still could be lying."

"Hitomi was convinced." Yosu pointed out, receiving a sharp look from Van. "She apparently has more evidence in her head than we do though."

"I now Seguir." Millerna added, standing. "And I couldn't believe it when we found he had betrayed us. His loyalty was always warm and unfailing to my father and myself. I find it much easier to believe that he is trying to help us than trying to hurt us."

"But you have a bias as well." Yukari pointed out. "Its all confirmation bias. Half of us want him to be bad so we interpret his evidence as such. What we need to do is to distance ourselves from our opinions and focus on the facts."

"Maybe we should take a vote." Jiai suggested.

"The good side would win." Daiji stated. "It seems like Van and Allen are the only ones convinced that he's a spy."

"I'm not set on either side." Yosu reported. "But that's because I want more proof. He had Van's sword – and an explanation for Hitomi's episode. What else proves that he's credible?"

"The lock thing." Koneko recalled. "And his story of his wife and stuff. I think that's convincing."

"And Hitomi's proof too." Merle said in addition. "She had Fakey Hitomi memories or something going on. Memories don't lie."

"I agree with her." Yukari announced.

"He hasn't been entirely honest with us in the past." Allen pointed out. "He never told us he was a Draconian while he was Captain of the Guard."

"But I can understand that." Millerna said. "I'm sure Van understands about being a Draconian – It's meant to be kept secret."

"That's true." Van agreed, grumbling. 'My mother always told me to keep my wings hidden, even as a child."

"Past, Present, whatever." Amano spoke. "I think what's beginning to sway me is that he's shared a ton of info already, even to the point of telling us who our enemy is and where he's going. IF he can help us, maybe we can stop this before Trapan comes to power."

"But is there really a Trapan and a Master?" Allen asked. "Or is it just a ploy?"

"The soldiers who attacked this ship two days ago were Draconians." Van announced. "I saw them fly into Egzardia when they retreated."

"There seems to be more favorable than unfavorable evidence…" Yosu summed up, "…but I still don't know…"

"Holy crap people!" Dilandau shouted from his spot on the wall where he'd been nursing his migraine through the whole meeting. "Would you all just SHUT UP!?! You want an answer, here it is: This guy surrendered himself to you, gave you proof of his story, spent all afternoon droning on and on on that sickening emotional load of crap, then walked out of here like some kinda convict when he hasn't done a single thing to any of you! He brought the moon girl back to life! He ratted out his entire species! I'll list more but we were all there… While you all chew on this for the next five days like I know you will, you should notice that Hitomi is out there alone with him and nobody even thought it was a bad idea! Listen to your frickin' subconscious people! Honestly! That 'confirmation bias' spiel is bullcrap, you're just so stubborn and stupid you like to hear yourselves talk and bore me to death! Make up your minds and trust the guy already! Even if he's lying he's telling you more than you know and there's enough obvious truth in it to at least draw some conclusions! And do it fast before I kill myself!" He sank down against the wall and returned to rubbing his temples.

Everyone else stared at him with blinking astonishment. Daiji pointed. "I agree with him."

Dryden nodded. "I second that."

"You're joking me!" Van cried. "You're with HIM!?! With DILANDAU!?!"

"There came a growl from the figure on the floor. "Eat crap Fanel."

"He's the only impartial person here and he's obviously right." Dryden told him.

"Well, Jiai, Yukari, Koneko, Merle and I were going to trust Seguir anyway." Millerna stated. "What about you undecideds? Do you agree with Dilandau?"

"I definitely do." Amano answered. "It's a good point and sounds like a good plan."

"I don't like where it came from." Allen reported, wondering then why did didn't have his sister back yet.

"While I agree with Allen, I agree with the rest of you as well." Van concluded. "But I'm keeping a tight guard on him to make sure he's not poking around where he doesn't belong."

"I'll live with that." Yosu agreed.

"Allen?" Millerna pleaded with her big blue eyes.

The knight kept his arms crossed and diverted his gaze, but he finally consented when eh realized dissenting would only be losing. "Fine but I still don't trust him. I'll never trust anyone who was ever affiliated with the enemy."

"What about Folken?" Millerna asked. Van's head snapped up. "Folken defected last time and helped us."

"For the record, I never completely trusted him either." Allen replied.

Van relaxed again, then forked himself up out of his seat. "I'm going after Hitomi, and I'll unlock Nadeje from his room. Now that we trust him."

"I'm starved!" Merle cried. "When's dinner!?"

"Yeah, we haven't eaten a real meal on board such an extravagant ship yet!" Jiai cried with blooming optimism.

"That'd be kinda hard…" Amano said, tentatively.

Daiji fingered his Raybans and completed the sentence, "…the crew is kinda preoccupied."

Hakai huffed from across the room. "-being dead!"

Daiji gave him an armored glance. "I as trying to avoid that."

Jiai recalled how depressed Dryden would get when the subject would surface. "Oh, that's right," she looked ashamed, "I'm sorry."

Dryden tried to shrug it off. "Its okay…" He cleared his throat. "I rarely use the dining hall anyway. We don't need to be served. How about I just show you all where the kitchen is and we declare it open season?"

"A smorgasbord!?" Koneko cried. "Awesome!"

"Point the way!" Merle agreed excitedly.

"Okay." Dryden agreed, positive energy refreshing. "Follow me."

The group marched out of Hitomi's room in remarkably high spirits considering the mood they were in when they'd entered. Van broke off to visit the open door at the end of the deck and rescue Hitomi from guard duty. AS he approached, he heard laughing and the voices of the girl and the prisoner speaking pleasantly together. The king paused in the shadow of the wall and listened.

"So, how did you and Ayen's mother meet?"

"Perda? Perda was working in her uncle's bookstore. I took a trip with some friends to her part of town one weekend and there she was."

"You mean you didn't even know she was a Draconian when you met her!?!"

"No, all I knew was that she was the most striking woman I ever met."

"Oh, that's so cute! Was it love at first sight!? Did she like you back?"

"I don't see how." He laughed to himself. "I was eighteen and my friends were jerks."

Hitomi gasped. "What did they do?"

He sounded embarrassed, laughing a little. "Well, uh… heh.. we were teenagers…"

Hitomi was only more anxious to hear. "Come on! What did you do!?"

"Well, we – and we were just kids – but we swapped a couple of books that had… inappropriate… illustrations into the gardening and flowers section. Then we waited for old ladies to come and find them." Hitomi was laughing. Seguir sounded like he was trying to keep himself from laughing as well. "It was an immature thing to do… but…"

"I can't even imagine you doing something like that!"

"It was a long time ago."

"What did Perda do?"

"Nothing to us, but old ladies kept complaining to her. It was her uncle that ran us out of the store."

"So you actually got some old ladies!?!"

"Yeah, yeah we planted five books and got four customers before we were evicted. Perda took a lot of trips into the erotic section to reorganize the store."

"So that' show you met? Through a practical joke?"

"Well, it gave her a reason to notice me in town a week later."

Van used this opportunity to care his throat and enter, causing the two of them to look up form the floor. Van was surprised to find them sitting on the rug with their backs against the foot of the bed. Hitomi had taken her shoes off and now balled up a little, pulling on her socks when she saw him. "Van?" Seguir stood when the king entered. The sixteen year old was amazed at the man's sense of duty. It seemed like a defector and a traitor would show little respect to a monarch twenty years his junior. Van relaxed his posture as Hitomi stepped back into her shoes. "Is the meeting over? What… what did they decide?"

"We are going downstairs to find food." Van told her, deliberately not answering the question. The scene was causing mixed responses in him. "Nadeje, if you're hungry you can come."

Hitomi felt a weight disappearing from her shoulders and a wide smile broke her face. "Really!? You mean it!?! Its okay if he comes!?"

Van nodded, trying to be stern but finding her unbridled joy contagious and cheating a smile. "We talked it over and decided that keeping him prisoner wouldn't do us any good."

"That's awesome!" She jumped and hugged Seguir. "I'm so happy!" he was smiling, too, the threat of a hostile life aboard the ship now removed from his sights. Hitomi came off of him and turned her glowing eyes on her boyfriend. "VAN!" She ran and threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you!"

"Hitomi." He pulled his arms up around her in reflex, but was soon awash with the pleasure of having her embrace him. She kissed his cheek, a model of cheer and bliss. Then grabbed Seguir's hand ad drug him back out into the hall.

"Hurry! Let's catch up! Come on, Van, let's go find everybody! I'm so happy I can't wait for them all to get to know you! This is the best thing ever!"

To be continued…


	19. Episode 19: Divisiveness

Escaflowne: Mirrors 

Episode 19: Divisiveness

The bunch of them had crashed not far from the kitchens on one of the lower decks. They had found enough bread, meat, cheese, vegetable, fruit, water, milk and wine to make them all full and happy. Merle was gnawing on a huge sandwich when she looked up. "This is the best supper! No servers no plates no portions – just eat as much as you want!"

Koneko agreed from a matching sub. "Mmmph!"

"Thanks for opening the kitchen up, Dryden!" Yukari called from a cheese sandwich.

He swallowed. "Sure no problem."

"This meat's go a great tang to it." Amano said. "Its like turkey with kick."

"I'm surprised you didn't compare it to chicken." Yukari teased him. "Doesn't everything taste like chicken?"

Amano looked at his dinner. "I guess it could be chicken."

"This isn't pheasant is it?" Daiji asked from the arm of the chair.

"No, its turkey." Van answered.

Amano slapped Yukari in the arm. "See! I told you!"

Suru looked up form trying to force-feed Leptelepitos a block of cheese. "You have turkey's here?"

"Yeah, are we not supposed to?" Merle asked.

Suru returned to mashing dairy against wood.

"I forget how alike Gaea and Earth are." Hitomi said in a voice that sounded amused with herself. "Sometimes I get the two places mixed up."

Yosu cast an eye over to Van who felt his glare and returned it. Daiji noticed the exchange occurring over her head. "I can understand how you could do that."

"But I love it here!" She said, all smiles. "I love the landscape and the culture and I love all of you! I wish I could stay here forever!"

Yosu's eyes broke the stare and dropped down to the floor. Van's narrowed ever so slightly to take on a sheen of victory.

"But Hitomi, what about us?" Jiai asked.

"Yeah," Yukari called in mock outrage, "what are we? Five minutes ago?"

Hitomi was struck with guilt. "Oh Yukari no!"

The redhead smiled at her. "I'm kidding Hitomi! You'd never really stay here forever would you?"

Amano shook his head. "Of course she wouldn't, she hasn't even finished school yet!"

It was Yosu's turn to look victorious.

"So how much is different between Gaea and Earth?" Millerna asked. "I find it interesting."

"Me too," Dryden said, turning around from where he was sitting caddy-corner on the couch. "Its fascinating!"

Hitomi laughed, she could tell by the look on Millerna's face that she found his thirst for knowledge absolutely adorable. Jiai found her cheeks pinking up as well. Hitomi smiled. "Well, the sky is still blue, so is the sea. The grass is still green. There are still trees and flowers and cities full of people."

"But what's different?" Merle pressed.

"Well they don't have beast people." She said.

Merle's ears came up. "Huh?"

"Everyone on Earth is human." She said.

"You mean there are no Draconians either?" Merle asked.

"Nope, just humans." She answered. "But there are all different kinds of humans with different color skin and different appearances, so I guess its kind of like Gaea."

"What about government?" Allen asked. "How many countries are there?"

"There are tons of countries!" Hitomi said. "Hundreds! But there aren't so many kings anymore; at least it doesn't seem like it. Most of the big countries have Presidents or Prime Ministers who are elected officials instead of inherited…"

"Elected?" Millerna asked. "You mean not even of royal descent?"

"Yep, just normal people who want the job." Hitomi said.

"It must be weird." Merle shrugged.

"Who cares?" Dilandau snapped form across the room. He was watching Hakai burn plant leaves with his matches. His head felt better with each blackened, crinkled remain.

Van stopped waging a silent war with Yosu and turned the object of his negativity on Dilandau. "When are you going to turn back inside out?"

"That's a good question." Millerna said. "We promised to get her back as soon as possible."

Amano slouched. "I don't think Dilandau's gonna cooperate like Celena did."

"As long as he's entertained what's the harm in keeping him?" Daiji shrugged. Many among them turned an outraged eye and he took a start. "Whoa! I didn't mean anything bad, all I'm saying is that it can wait if it has to until Celena comes back on her own or at least until Dilandau gets comfortable enough with us to stand us turning him back. We don't want him to hurt himself after all." Allen grumbled to himself in a surprisingly Amano-like fashion. Daiji picked the end of his sandwich back up. "It at least can wait until we get to wherever we're going."

"Where are we going?" Jiai asked.

"We're heading to Fried for repairs." Dryden answered.

Seguir had been sitting silently against the leg of Hitomi's chair trying not to be a distraction, but looked up with a start when he heard this remark. "Fried!?"

"Do you have a problem with that, Nadeje?" Allen snarled.

"Yes." He got up from the floor. "You can't go to Fried."

"What!?" Van shouted. "What gives you authority to declare what we can and cannot do!?"

"Cool down, Van, don't overreact." Dryden bade.

Daiji joined him. "Yeah, Seguir's one of us now."

Yukari nodded pointedly. "We should hear what he has to say at least."

Dryden messed with his glasses. "Okay, now, why can't we go to Fried? Is there something wrong?"

Seguir felt awkward again. Butting into their affairs seemed like putting his sanctuary at risk, and he was on thin ice with the group anyway. Still, his input was important to their safety and he tried not to sound like he was lecturing when he spoke again. "Fried is crawling with Faction operatives. From what I understand much of the military, palace guard and several of the prominent positions are Factionaries. It where the Faction first came together…"

"Really!?!" Koneko cried. "The start of it all was in Fried?"

"But your Trapan sounds Zaibachian." Van said.

"He's not MINE." Seguir said, a little disgusted. "But he is Zaibachian, yes. The Faction exists beyond countries. They are trying to bring the whole world under Draconian rule. It began in the mountains on the Friedian/Zaibachian border where the Master has his Safehouse. Fried was the first Government to be conquered because it was so weak after the war."

"No!" Allen cried, suddenly and somewhat inappropriately. His thoughts were strongly on his son and as Seguir was speaking images of Chid as a prisoner or worse dead, his father's blue eyes frozen gaping at the bottom of some dark pit painted a shocking portrait of disaster on his mind. The Knight clenched his fists. "I don't believe you!"

"Actually, it's got credence." Dryden said, a hand on his chin. Allen's head snapped quickly around, blond hair flying about in a veil. The merchant continued with detached and logical reasoning; he had no familiar ties to Fried. "No one in my circles have done any business with Fried for months now. Nothing good comes out of it and no one thinks to go in, but it was never a big money maker anyway."

"If that's the case, I'm worried about Chid." Millerna muttered. Allen's taxed nerves turned quickly to her. "He is my nephew… I hope he's alright."

"I'm sorry, Millerna, I forgot your sister was the queen…" Dryden apologized. He tried to sound reassuring and made Allen's stomach knot. "I'm sure Chid's fine… He's young, and a new ruler… they probably wouldn't have to do anything drastic to take over power. Nothing dangerous, I'm sure he's fine. I don't think they'd hurt him, don't worry."

Jiai looked to Seguir. "Would they hurt him?"

Seguir shook his head. "I don't know. It depends on who is running the occupation. Trapan likes to put locals in charge of their own countries to make the transition unnoticeable to the people. Its up to the new leader how the takeover is pulled off."

"It was violent in Zaibach." Van recalled.

"But it was peaceful in Asturia and Fanelia." Amano said quickly. "So there's hope enough."

Hitomi looked to Seguir. "But we can't go in…even to check?"

Seguir sighed. "I wouldn't feel comfortable letting you all in there. It's an accident waiting to happen. All it would take would be one Factionary recognizing you and all of us would be in danger."

"So even if we don't try anything heroic and just go for repairs the risk is high." Millerna said, crestfallen."

Amano sighed as well. "That ends that."

"Wait." Allen was persistent and dead set on keeping the option open. "Fried is.. is an ally! It is our duty to defend it from invasion!"

"That's not what you said about Zaibach." Daiji retorted.

"Zaibach was different." Allen said, feeling threatened by Daiji's tone.

"I don't see how." Yosu said snippishly.

Allen's logical resistance the day before had come back to haunt him, but he put his foot down and assumed a concrete, albeit irrational determination. "I'm going! It's my duty to free the Duke! I'm going into Fried no matter what."

"I can't let you do that." Dryden said, sounding dutiful. "It's illogical. I don't see the point."

Hitomi glanced around at those among them, growing nervous. She knew why Allen was so desperate to get into Fried and was trying hard to remember whom else she'd told about Allen's sire. The knight wasn't choosing to expose himself to the public, and even though she and Millerna already knew; what kind of catastrophe could ensue if one of her party made a slip. Jiai tugged Millerna. "But isn't Chid his…"

Millerna put a finger to her mouth. "Shh." But was reminded, herself, why Allen had such a fervor. She turned over her shoulder and looked up to Dryden. "Maybe there's still a way we can help."

Seguir tightened his face a little, really hoping that the matter had been dismissed. The merchant looked own to her. "How's that?"

"Well, we have two ships…" she recalled, "perhaps Allen could take the Crusade into Fried and investigate."

Allen was deeply touched that the Queen was taking his side and stepped forward more calmly. "That is an excellent plan. That way we can go into Friend and you can go elsewhere for repairs. It will waste no time and we will regroup again when we are both ready."

Dryden put a hand to his chin. "It could work, but I still don't see the point."

"Chid helped us in the last war." Millerna said, crafting an excuse. "We owe it to him to at least find out what happened. There is also a lot of information to gather should the Crusade find the "Safehouse" Seguir was talking about. We could learn some valuable things, and the ship would hopefully be far away from any real towns in the mountains while they look."

"It would be useful to investigate the point of origin." Van agreed. "We learned some from the Zaibach exercise, but we still don' know everything we could. Perhaps Fried will give us a clue about who the Master is or what his next move will be."

"He could still be there you know." Yosu added. "If he is, taking out the leader is always the card that makes a castle fall."

Allen's heart was pounding as he searched their faces. Millerna looked to him and gave one final argument. "Allen really feels that he needs to go in, just like when I wanted to go to Zaibach. We should use as much effort to make this real for him as we did for me."

Hitomi held her breath. She didn't know why, but somehow Dryden had assumed complete authority over the decision when in reality he had no more power to dictate what the knight could or could not do than his double did. Still her hopes hung in the moment while he deliberated, knowing that he and Allen had never truly gotten along and that she, too wanted the Knight to find his son. Dryden's green eyes set and he nodded. "You're absolutely right, Millerna. We owe Allen as much. Its only fair that his interests be taken as seriously as anyone else's." Hitomi smiled broadly and looked to Van in excitement. He didn't understand why.

Allen let out a sigh and found that he was actually grateful to have the merchant's help. "Thank you for allowing me to go. I'll make the preparations and leave soon, we'll arrange a meeting place."

Dryden looked surprised at him. "Hold on! What do you think you're going to do? Go the whole thing alone? No way, we counseled and plotted the last adventure together, naturally the whole group is going to want to do the same for you."

"Yeah, I want to go!" Yukari cried. Amano was shocked.

"And you're going to need backup." Van added. "We will work it out now and the groups will part this evening with full knowledge of exactly where each other will be and what they will be doing."

Millerna smiled up at Allen. "We care too much about you, Allen, to let you go by yourself. You should know that!"

Without realizing it, the knight was blushing as he stared wide-eyed at the fifteen friends he'd forgotten that he had.

Escaflowne

They had been flying all night and all day over the Ventrag Mountains and up the forested border between Asturia and Fanelia. Now, a keen eye to the west betrayed the first hints of the Adynatons and the wet country of Chesario beyond. Torsion was growing exhausted. She was unaccustomed to having the use of only one arm, and although her Maginot had been re-outfitted for right-handed controls, it was a challenge to know exactly what the levers and switches did and the flight-booster controls were difficult to manipulate with one hand. Her am was shaking as her exhausted muscles tried to maintain a steady course.

Prestress and Vector were following just behind like good soldiers, one on her left and one on her right. Vector, his arms showing no sign of fatigue, could sense the overtaxed state of his new commander's mind and body. He looked to Prestress out of the corner of his eye. The beast man was level, at least according to his own philosophy. Loyalties only mattered when they were returned, and the means were only acceptable if the ends were justified. This little desertion of theirs was placing them in copious amounts of trouble but he didn't care. The truth was that he didn't care if he cared. The state of the Faction was now unbalanced and he had to do his part to equalize it as far as he was concerned. He neither felt Vector's eye nor Torsion's pain.

Vector realized that Torsion needed a rest, but didn't expect her to take one. She would plow on ahead to Asgard if it made her remaining arm fall off. It would be up to him to take the initiative. He gunned his engines to tighten their formation and shouted to the other two. "The sun is peaking, we should take some time to recover and regain our strength."

Prestress turned his gold eyes out of his grille and said nothing. Torsion relaxed her speed and sank back into a line. "We have to get to the Mystic City before Trapan."

"I know." Vector assured. "But we can take an hour. We need to organize our thoughts in any case. We should land."

She sighed, realizing for herself just how cramped she was getting in her cockpit. The border of Deidlas was just creeping below them as they left the land of Fanelia behind. The pine forests grew thick and reminded her of earlier that week when their party had stopped her on their search for the Nadejes. It was night. Virial had given them three hours to do with as they pleased. AS she recalled, she had sought out a patch of moonlight to stretch her wings and find some privacy. Virial had followed – she realized that that was when she'd met Glaucus for the first time even though she didn't know it then. It made her feel more sick and drained than she ever had. The trees held less magic in the daylight. "Alright, let's land here but not for long. We've got a future to save." She pressed her boosters downward, the two levers cradled in the palm of her right hand. She noticed the ache growing in her biceps as she steered.

The ring of engines tucked away and her Maginot's feet pounded into the ground splintering the branches of pines and sending fallen needles billowing up like a cloud. Vector landed next to her a little more heavily and Prestress touched down with less destructive force. Three hatches came open with puffs of steam and folding metal as their Draconian pilots emerged. Torsion's legs were shaking as she clambered out onto the plank. She had no idea that she was this physically spent and groped for the side of her machine as she tried to gain her balance. Having one dead arm strapped across her stomach didn't help. Vector came over and helped her down to the ground. "You've pressed yourself too hard, sir, you're still recovering from the injuries Resultant gave you. You need to give your body a chance to heal."

She was feeling awfully dizzy and found no point in arguing. "Alright, Vector, alright. I'll rest. " She stumbled away from them following the leg of her suit. She was feeling tight and really wanted to let out her wings. It seemed safe enough. Out they came, shooting just behind the straps of her sling and folding up into the air. She doubled over to keep balance, feeling the feathers settle against themselves. Feeling relieved and empty, she sighed and straightened. Only when she had her wings out did she feel unwound and free from all the twisting she'd built up, her exhaustion settled into an unconscious, blissful mist on her mind. She opened her eyes very slowly, the brown bronzing in the afternoon sunlight. She imagined for a moment flying in the sky, soaring over the Mystic City in a future where Draconians lived in the open. It was a sweet dream full of happiness. Glaucus was there wearing white with broad wings and a broad smile. Love would be dancing in his lavender eyes. She felt refreshed in this dream and had strength to start traveling again. She turned on her heel to join her two companions and caught sight of her white feathers.

Something stalled. Torsion began to tremble again, not understanding why. She kept thinking of Glaucus, his own private pain written on every feather and revealed so suddenly at the first sign of emotion. The last time they spoke, his wings were out. They almost kissed. And Areolar had stopped them. Her heart began to beat rapidly as she stumbled and slumped against the leg of the Maginot, rage and despair again on her mind. Areolar had killed him, too. Her brother had killed her commander and her lover. She saw blood and metal seeping out of his cloven cockpit. She could still feel the sick stickiness of the pool as she knelt in the rain. All the bottled, twisted, bound up pain and anger washed back over her and she fainted in the midst of the vortex.

Vector felt the rush and turned. Prestress dashed around her, hearing her hit with his impala ears. The beast man rolled her onto her side, and made sure she was all right. Vector leaned down with a groan. "She must have pushed herself harder than I thought."

"She is unconscious." Prestress announced. "But no worse than before."

"We will let her rest." Vector announced. "When she wakes again we will go. No need to push her any farther than she's pressed herself."

Prestress laid her back on the ground and stood. "Alright. I see nothing off balance with that."

Escaflowne

The Congruency, now Areolar's ship not Virial's, rolled out of the hanger at Zaibach Palace and took to the air. Areolar was standing strong and proud, commander of a force greater than his predecessor's and after the same target. Resultant stormed up the hall to the cockpit door. He lacked respect when he got his commander's attention. "Areolar!"

The captain's proud resolve twitched with irritation. "What is it?"

"Why aren't we going after Torsion and the others?"

"Because Trapan told us not to worry about them." Areolar answered. "They'll come to us in time."

"I can't sit here and trust that." Resultant fumed. "I want to find them now – make them pay for deserting."

"No?" Areolar asked. "You can't trust the decisions of your superiors!?" He was nothing less than annoyed.

Resultant saw he wasn't working and changed his approach. "Let me go after them. I'll find them. Give me fifty men." Areolar eyed him. Resultant engaged the door-in-the-face approach. "Ten – give me a detachment and I'll find them."

"No." Areolar stated.

Resultant was furious. "Why not!?!"

"I want you to leave my sister alone." The commander stated. "When she comes back she's going under my watch. I let her make her own mistakes for too long. I see now that she can be influenced by lies and false promises. No, I won't allow anyone near her. I wont allow anyone else to hurt her." His eyes became fiery as if a switch had been tripped in his brain turning him from slightly put out to a demon of Hades. He turned and stared at his 19-year-old so seriously that Resultant was shocked out of his determination. "You went against our agreement and injured my sister when I specifically warned you not to. Torsion's body is permanently affected because of your foolish actions. Don't think that will die as easily as Virial did, no. You cross me again and its over, understand… god or not."

"W-what?" Resultant had no words in offense or defense. He could barely rationalize how severely he had just been threatened.

Areolar turned to stare out at the parched grassland of Zaibach rolling underneath them. "You want to be here anyway. Our target is Escaflowne."

"Escaflowne!?!" Resultant cried, Torsion all but erased from his mind. "Vengeance is so close! I can nearly taste it!"

"Go revel somewhere off my bridge." Areolar spat.

Resultant fumed and stormed off, a nasty taste growing in his mouth for Areolar. The prospect of an impending face-off with Escaflowne could not help but lift his mood. He'd devoted his life to revenge. The sweetness of getting a sword in both the woman who rejected him and the man who took her from him still sang on his tongue. Those victories would always be diamonds in her crown, but Escaflowne was the brightest gem in the world in his eyes. "The whole war comes down to this…" He sneered through his red bangs. "Escaflowne was the leader in the army that stole my life. When I get a chance to let loose on the Murder Melef there'll be nothing left but a bloody ruin at my feet!"

Escaflowne

"Okay," Amano said, sitting down, "we're breaking into groups – who goes where?"

"I'm captaining the Crusade." Allen stated concretely. "And I'm bringing Gadess with me."

"Whoa? Why?" Yukari asked. "Don't you think Gadess ad the crew would be more useful here? This ship is bigger and we could run the Crusade by ourselves."

"Hold on –" Allen bade, "-what do you mean "we"?"

"Well, I'm Marlene aren't I?" Yukari asked. "I wanna go check on my son."

Allen seemed to be in protest but Amano stepped in. "If you're going I'm going." "You don't have to." Yukari told him appreciatively. "You probably should stay here to look after Hakai and Suru."

"Wait, should we write this down?" Jiai asked.

Daiji shook his head, amused. "'Ai, you and you're lists."

"I'll do it." Millerna volunteered. "Dryden? Where is paper and pen?"

He gestured widely. "Look around, there's bound to be some somewhere."

"Way to be organized." Koneko gave him the thumbs up.

"I found some." Millerna reported. She returned from a desk against the wall and sat down next to Dryden making two columns on the page, one for each ship. "Okay, now Allen is going on the Crusade and Yukari wants to go with him."

"I want to go too." Van reported. "If we find that enemy stronghold I want to be there for the invasion."

"So Van is going on the Crusade – " Millerna wrote.

"I don't want to go into that kind of danger." Jiai fretted.

"I don't either." Suru peeped. "Its too big for me."

"So Jiai and Suru are here." Millerna said.

"I have to stay here." Dryden said. Millerna looked alarmed and he laughed. "it's my ship, Millerna, I don't have much of a choice. I'm responsible for negotiating the repairs."

"Of course I can't believe I didn't think of that." Millerna said, writing his name slowly. "But I don't know what to do now. I wanted to go check on Chid, but I want to stay with you…"

"You should stay here, Millerna." Van voiced. Everyone looked and waited for him to support his stand. "There is no guarantee that we will find Chid, and you will be in the way if we take offensive measures."

"I am a doctor, Van." Millerna defended. "I wouldn't just be 'in the way'."

"Even so," Yosu surmised, "we probably wont be there on a peaceful trip. Write Chid a not or something but I don't think you should come."

"Allen, what do you think?" Millerna asked.

The knight was surprised that she would ask his opinion specifically. He'd gotten the feeling that he'd been replaced. Now as she appealed to him he found himself uncertain of an answer. He knew that Van and Yosu were right, but the selfish side of him wanted her along. Just he and she, without Dryden, like old times. But he was fooling himself. Old times were past and it wasn't his place to put her in danger for his own personal preferences. "Van is right, Millerna."

She sighed. "Okay, I'll stay."

Dryden slouched a little and brought his arms around her shoulders. "Makes me feel better."

She looked at him and realized that the alternative wasn't bad at all. "Okay, Dryden and I are here."

"Hitomi should stay here too." Yosu stated.

Hitomi was shocked. "But I can help!"

Allen looked seriously at her. "How?"

"Well – I – um…" Now that she was pendantless and doubleless she'd run out of assets. Still, like Millerna, she wanted to be useful and she wanted to be involved. She also wanted to be with the one she loved. "Van! You want me to come don't you!"

Van didn't look at her but closed his eyes instead. "I want you with me, Hitomi, but I don't want you to get hurt." She was crestfallen. "I think it's best if you stay behind."

"So Hitomi's with us." Millerna said, cheerily. Allen seemed disappointed at her mood switch. She smiled at the earth girl. "Don't worry, we can have a blast and help Dryden out."

"We'll help too right?" Koneko asked, nudging Merle. "We'll stay here hand help when we can."

"But I wanted to go with Lord Van!" Merle whined.

Hitomi frowned at her. "If I can't go you can't go!"

Van smiled to himself, then realized who he was leaving his two loved ones behind with. He turned a critical eye on Yosu. "Don't get any ideas."

"Who are you kidding? I'm coming along." Yosu said.

"No you're not." Allen told him. "What good would you do? You can't use a sword."

"I'm tough enough." Yosu said. "I'm strong. I want to be involved."

"We need soldiers." Allen said. "I appreciate your enthusiasm but I think you should stay. Van and I can take care of this."

"Hey, what about me?" Yukari asked, outraged. "We agreed that I was coming."

"I never agreed to that." Allen said sternly.

"But I CAN use a sword!" She protested. "And I WANT to save my double's son! I've got more of a legitimate reason to go than Van has, why can't I?"

"Well-" Allen began but Yukari cut him short.

"If it's because I'm a girl then shove it! It's a new century and I'm just as good as you are!"

Allen, of course, did not understand the earthism and couldn't comprehend why she was so upset. "What's wrong?"

"You are so totally unfair, that's what's wrong!" She shouted. Amano tried vainly to calm her down. "I don't need your permission to go, I'll go along if I want to!" She marched over and wrote her name on Millerna's list. "There! Take that Mr. Male Chauvinist!"

Amano whistled and gave Allen a look that read 'Don't mess with her'. He read it clearly. Millerna took up the meeting again. "So…whose left?"

"I'm staying with you guys." Daiji said. "Unless the rest of you think I should go."

"We'll be fine." Van assured, growing tired of the assignment game.

"And then there's Dilandau and Hakai." Millerna stated. She looked around. "Where are they?"

Yosu rolled his eyes. "Burning something probably."

Dryden' leaned forward. "What?"

Merle looked skeptically up at him. "Have you missed out on all the pyromaniac cracks we've been making?"

He ran his hands through his bangs. "Well, if they burn one of my studies I hope they save the spines so I can replace the books."

"I want Dilandau with me." Allen said firmly, taking most of them by surprise. "He has my sister hostage in that body and I'm keeping him under my watch at all times."

Hitomi shifted weight. "Do you really think that's such a good idea?"

"I won't be swayed." Allen said. "Yukari can come if she wants, but Dilandau is not escaping my surveillance."

"Well if you take Dilandau you'll have to take Hakai, too." Amano said.

Allen didn't like the idea of two Dilandaus. "Why?"

Amano sounded like it was obvious. "Well Hakai's his only friend. They keep each other occupied. Its your best bet for any kind of sanity on this trip."

Van grumbled under his breath and Allen sighed. "Okay, you're right."

"And with Hakai –" Amano added, "- You get me."

"Why you?" Allen asked.

Amano frowned. "Like you, I have a responsibility for Hakai and I'm not letting him go unsupervised into hostile territory."

"Yukari's coming." Van said. "She can baby-sit."

"That's NOT why I'm coming!" Yukari said pointedly.

Amano shrugged. "I'm pretty decent with a sword anyhow. And I wanted to come help Yukari from the beginning. I'll play babysitter if you want, but I am coming."

"Okay so Amano, Dilandau and Hakai are on the Crusade." Millerna documented. "And everyone else is here?"

"Read it off, Millerna." Jiai requested.

"Okay." She took up the sheet and struck an orator's pose. "On the Merchant ship are Jiai, Suru, Dryden, Me, Hitomi, Koneko, Merle, Yosu, and Daiji." On the Crusade are Allen, Van, Yukari, Dilandau, Amano and Hakai."

Hitomi suddenly realized who they were missing. Seguir was again sitting quietly beside her, nearly invisible through the whole exercise. She got the feeling that his mind had wandered and looked over to find him nearly asleep with his head in his hand. She interrupted the group. "What about Seguir?"

Everyone else seemed to have forgotten him as well and expressed various degrees of embarrassment or disgust depending on their feelings toward him. Seguir came back to the present when he heard his name. "What is going on?"

"We've split into our groups." Hitomi told him. "Where do you want to go?"

"He should probably go to Fried with Van." Yosu said. "Since he knows more about this Faction than any of us do."

"You all know everything I know at this point." He said. "Except for whatever tidbits might come to mind but the important parts have all been shared."

"But why would you stay?" Merle asked. "To be with Hitomi?"

Neither Van nor Allen seemed to be happy with that, but it got Dryden thinking. "He actually WOULD be useful here. Without switching around you haven't left us with much of a defense. Seguir was a captain of the guard. His sword fighting and strategy skills would come in handy. And if we are somehow caught by the enemy, his ties might get us out of a sticky spot."

"Except that I'm on the run too." He reminded him.

Dryden frowned. "That's true."

Daiji brushed him off with a "pfsh". "The whole place can't know that yet!"

It was a tough decision, but ultimately it came down to the fact that most of those who still strongly distrusted Seguir were on the Crusade and those who were ready to accept him back into their good graces were on the Merchant ship. It was the latter that finally claimed him. Millerna penciled him in her column. "I've been meaning to talk some things over with you anyway… and here would be best if you wanted to lay low for a little while."

"Plus I bet you need some rest." Jiai assured. "You've been through a lot in the past day alone. Some downtime will be good for you."

Allen cleared his throat. "I still want to take Gadess with me."

"Full circle!" Yukari cried. "Right back to the beginning!"

"We'll ask Gadess what he wants to do." Dryden resolved. "For now we need to start outfitting your ship! I've got excess on here, you can take some of my supplies and such."

"We'll get to work on it." Van agreed. The meeting adjourned and the party broke, filing out of the room to where they felt they needed to go. Hitomi tarried with her 'father'. "Where were you just now?"

Seguir sighed. "Where I've always been – back home living an unscarred life in a world where Atlantis never tried to resume power."

"I'm really sorry." She said. "This whole thing is wrong. Everyone should be a lot happier. People shouldn't be killed for no good reason."

"You don't have to be sorry." He answered her. "I was happy in my memory and if I'm never happy again, I'll at least have that to go back to."

Hitomi bowed her head and sank into another guilty silence.

Escaflowne

Dilandau and Hakai were not burning stuff. They were in Dilandau's room doing just about nothing. Hakai was laid on the floor building a matchstick cabin. He called up to Dilandau who was laying out in a funk. "Whaddaya wanna do?"

Dilandau took his time in answering, tracing a crack in the painted wooden ceiling over and over again with his eye. "I don't want to do anything."

"You're not a prisoner you know." Hakai told him with a pang of irritation. "You can do whatever you want."

Dilandau thumbed the scar on his face and stared straight ahead. "I don't want to do anything."

Hakai shoved himself to his knees and scowled at the foot of the bed. "What's up with you!?!"

"Nothing's up with me!" Dilandau spat defensively, springing up to stare at him. "Leave me alone!"

"I'm not gonna!" Hakai reported, standing. "You're my friend and I want to do something! I haven't had a friend around here until now and don't think I'm gonna pass up an opportunity to have fun!"

Dilandau studied him tediously with a twisted look on his face before flopping back down on the bed and staring at the ceiling. "I had friends once. I don't remember ever having a family so they were pretty much it. The helped me do everything. When we were little – like nine – we'd pull pranks and sneak out and stuff. That was good times, we were all alike…little bad boys making chaos."

"Where are they now?" Hakai asked. "We could find them and have some fun."

Dilandau grimaced, a stabbing pain growing behind his eyes. With each memory and every glimpse of Miguel, Chesta, Gatti, Guimel, Dallet and Viole the pain grew larger until it was enough to make his eyes blur with each throb. He could feel things happening in his head. Things seemed wrong. He focused intently on the crack in the ceiling, the jagged line blurring in spasms. He'd felt like this before. A wave of emotion made him question every particle of his being: a strange sense that everything about him, even his body was all wrong. As he recalled, these rapidly escalating feelings always led him to bad places – being in a cell, being strapped to a hospital bed with ghostlike forms sticking needles in him, being mysteriously six months older and in the company of people he hated and he fought hard to tamp it down. He bit his lower lip. To answer Hakai's question – to admit that all of his Dragonslayers were dead – he knew would push him over the edge. A pain hot enough to force tears from his eyes warned him that he was getting close to it as he considered the fact. He could feel a desire deep inside his being and could see the figure of a girl he'd never met waiting to come out of the dark and be with her friends again.

"Ooooookay. Well, whatever. WE don't need them! We'll go have an adventure on our own!" He grabbed Dilandau's hand, scaring the sixteen year old so badly that he nearly slapped him. In a daze, the albino was dragged up from the bed. "How do you make a pipe bomb? We'll hide it in the bridge! "Or under Amano's bed! That'd be sweet! Scare the crap out of him I bet! We'll have to watch through the keyhole do you think? Maybe stick one in Escaflowne. Van will sit on it and get his butt blown off."

Hakai was purely his double, no one else besides, and Dilandau could feel his headache lull as he was towed. Thoughts of the strange girl vanished back into darkness.

Escaflowne

Trapan was standing on the bridge of his flagship. True to form, he'd never really given it a name. He only called it 'the Ship' because that was what it was. It was superficial to call something as menial as transportation by a proper name. But the pendant he held in front of him, glowing bright pink at his touch, it had a name. The Power of Atlantis. And it deserved every syllable. This small stone was the key to unlock the fabric of time and space. It was the tool that would allow his people to change the course of fate. A slick grin seeped across his face. "How long?"

"We are on direct route to Asgard, sir." His captain responded. "We will be in the mystic city by tomorrow afternoon."

"Good." He said with a malice that caused Atlantis to glow as if to shatter. "Good." He turned and left, his cape billowing and marched away from all other souls on board. He retired to a private room, kept dark without any external windows. He walked to the center of it, the light of Atlantis leading his way as a policeman's lantern would light the fog on a dark night. He kneeled down in the center of the chamber so that the light of the pendant struck the walls and made all physical space seem lost to the four winds of Gaea. There, with the deep creases of his face lit with the pink of the ancient light, he took out the jeweled sword. "I am here, Master."

"Ah…"

The light of the handle glowed strongly, casting a glaze of green and pink over the slick black hair and closed eyelids. The weapon lay flat across his lap, the sharpened edge gathering the reflections of the two relics as they shone in harmony. There was a strobe like flare as the Servant heard his master's voice.

"You met me not… At the Stronghold."

"There were delays." Trapan replied.

"Fate cannot be delayed."

"There were justifiable delays." Trapan repeated, maintaining an air of self-righteousness even when communicating to his most supreme ruler. "We have it."

"Good." The aged voice replied, holding deep strength, wisdom and knowledge far beyond its own years. All this quality however, did not dull its bite. "Finally."

"I am on my way to deliver it to the Mystic City."

"I am waiting." The green stones let out a spark each time the word 'I' was spoken. "I am patiently and constantly waiting."

"The Master has already taken up residence in the Capital City?" Trapan asked the empty room. "He is not concerned with the exploits of his Servant? He does not expect him to fail?"

"You are a god, Trapan." The voice said, tersely. "But that does not make you free of my wrath. Keep your narcissistic pryings to and shallow titillations to yourself. The Fate Alteration device stands ready. It awaits its heart. Bring the Power of Atlantis to me, Trapan, bring it here with no excuses or justifiable delays. Once the powerful core starts beating we will forge our perfect world. The pieces are already falling into place. I have seen it in the stars. The world of beasts and humans will crumble and die. The light of the blue moon will be blotted from the night. The Kingdom of the Draconians meant by the initial design of Gaea will be reestablished under my leadership. There will be no second chances. There will be no delays. There will only be life in the way it should be. A life ruled by wings. A dragon's strength buried deep inside the heart of the Mystic City. Peace will not descend on Gaea again, it will flood it, taking up the fate of the planet where it left off generations past. Arrive here swift as the dragons themselves, Trapan, and see this timeline realign for the glory of all gods."

"Your glory is all that can be seen, Master." Trapan replied. "On dragon's wings my ship will come, bringing you your prize, bringing you your prize."

The light of the sword dimmed back to its normal smolder and the deep creases in the man's face faded back into shadow. He opened his pinpoint eyes.

The master had left him again and his audience chamber was naught but a dark empty room. He sheathed his sword with a swipe and a click. He then reached for his lantern, the prize of the master, the heart of Fate, and wound it back around his wrist. He would tell the crew to double their time and chase dragons to Asgard. He was to be the second to the ruler of the world, able to place all mortals, gods men and beasts alike, below him. Something about that selfishly pleased him. "Its not bad for the rest of the world. They no longer have to worry about daily life and individuality. WE will have leadership and it will ease their pain."

Escaflowne

It was well past noon, and Torsion had slept motionlessly where they had left her by her melef. Prestress was sitting across form Vector with his back against a tree. "When shall we wake her?"

"No hurry." Vector answered. "She is fine. If we must remain here all night than we shall."

"Out in the open?" Prestress asked. "Not all are as level as I am. If I were to lead the Faction, I would let defectors go without question, but Trapan will not."

"Why is that?" Vector asked.

"Because human nature desires revenge. In order to right a wrong done to you, you go out of your way to track down and injure the wrongdoer. That is a waste of time and effort, but that is what our nature provides for us."

"And you do not struggle with this?" The other asked.

"I do, but I hold to a system that sees an alternate end." Prestress informed him. "If you were to leave us suddenly never to return, it would be obvious that you would have nothing to do with me, therefore I must let you go and seek to have nothing to do with you, therefore maintaining balance."

"You would not be hurt if I betrayed your trust and loyalty to pursue my own interests?"

"Personal feelings mean nothing." Prestress answered. "I must believe that to maintain balance."

"I'm glad that I mean so much to you." Vector shook his head. "You must have loved Resultant."

"He, especially, will be looking for us." Prestress assumed. "And Areolar. They wish to seek out Torsion because of their personal ties to her."

"I believe that you are right, at least about that last part. But they should be hours behind us at present."

The sound of churning air could be heard coming toward them. Prestress stared upward as he came to stand. "You may have spoken too soon."

"Is it them?" Vector asked.

Prestress saw the vessel come into view over the trees. "It is Trapan."

"His ship is moving fast." Vector agreed, backing up to catch sight of it. The transport came speeding overhead, cutting through the sky with tumultuous rumbling. The treetops moved in the ripples of sky left trailing in its wake. Pine needles rained down like threatening rain. Vector became resolute. "They should have been able to see us from that distance."

Prestress narrowed his golden eyes. "Yet they did not stop nor even slow. Perhaps they have more pressing matters at hand, or a plan to send others after us."

"The Mystic City." Vector stated. "He is headed there, and there is no way we can beat him to it now, even if we followed dangerously close behind."

"Is there a town nearby?" Prestress asked.

"Skortsky." Vector answered affirmatively. "It is a border town about three miles west. It is mall, but full of foreigners… a city of trade."

Prestress paused, something less than "even" seeming to come over him. Stiffly he headed for his mecha. "I know a place we can go."

"A place?" Vector asked, suspiciously.

Prestress stopped again while his hatch opened and stared down at his giant companion, through is sharply slanting though freshly deepened impala eyes. "Gather Torsion and bring her with us. We are headed for the town. There is a hiding place there that I know of." Vector stared into him. "It is the home of my mother."

Escaflowne

"Hakai!!!" Suru wandered through the halls of the ship. "Dilandau!?!"

Koneko and Merle were behind her. Koneko cupped her hands. "Crazy boy!!! Whitey!!!"

Merle did the same. "Chicken!!! Pyro!!!"

Suru looked at them, her blue eyes seemed a little hurt. "That's not nice, you shouldn't call them names."

"We're just kidding around." Koneko told her. "We'll find the dweebs."

"Lord Van told us to." Merle said with a scoff. "So we'll find 'em."

"I'm sad they are going." Suru sighed. "I will miss them."

Koneko took a double take. "What?"

Merle cocked an eyebrow. "What for?"

Koneko tightened her pigtails as she changed her tone. "Now, I can understand missing your brother, maybe, but I don't know why you'll be sad about loosing Dilandau. I'm happy to see him go."

Suru fingered Leppy behind her back and spoke softly. "I like Dilandau."

Merle sank down to her haunches. "Again, I ask 'why'?"

"He's not a bad person." Suru said. "he has Celena in him, so he can't be a bad person."

"He's Celena's complete opposite." Merle cried. "The point is that he HAS no Celena in him. She's all someplace else. What we have leftover is what Dilandau is! He's not even sane! I don't see how you think you like him."

"I do like him." Suru said again. "He's my brother. I like Hakai too. Its mean for you to call them names."

"Okay, okay Su, fine." Koneko complied. "Even if both Dilandau and Hakai are crazy, dangerous and detestable in every possible way, we'll not call them names while you're in earshot."

Suru accepted it without statement. "Hakai!!! Dilandau!!!"

Merle came up next to Koneko. "Where do you think they'd be?"

"I dunno." Koneko shrugged. "This place is so much bigger than the last ship."

Merle sniffed the air. "Hold it, I got a lead… I smell smoke."

Suru looked down the hall. "I see it I see it! It's coming out of that door down there." She took off for it.

Koneko smacked herself in the head. "Typical."

"Of Suru or the boys?"

"Both."

The two girls joined Suru at the end of the hall. She'd frozen in the doorway, staring at Hakai and Dilandau who were marveling over a pillar of flame. From what they could pull from the scene, they had constructed a matchstick jenga tower complete with a fuse of matchsticks stretching across a polished wooden table. They'd just recently lit the matchsticks and begun the chain reaction leading to the blazing structure they saw before them now, listing dangerously to the side. It had taken nearly a full minute, but Suru finally screamed.

Dilandau flinched and covered his ears, then turned around to face them. "What the - !?!"

Koneko pointed an accusing finger at the tower. "What are you doing!?!"

Merle joined her cry. "What're you all crazy?!"

Suru covered her eyes. "I don't like it! I don't like it at all! I'm scared!"

"You don't need to be scared, Su." Hakai told her. "I burn stuff all the time and you weren't scared before."

"It's going to fall!" Suru fretted, near tears. "It's going to fall! It's going to burn everything! Please put it out!"

"You're fine." Hakai assured, but Dilandau was perplexed. For the first time in his life he actually wanted to put out a fire. A cheer from his double spun him back around to face his construction. The back wall was giving way. Merle let out a scream as it fell backwards toward a fully stocked bookcase. Dilandau could see the scene ready to unfold in a few seconds: Suru in tears watching the heat and destruction ripple the air about the shelf, pages shooting up from devoured books like dying fireflies, the smoke and steam lighting the terrified girl in an evil glow. His eyes snapped to the teetering building as it began its descent with snapping matchsticks. He reacted before he realized what he was doing.

Both Suru and Hakai screamed, each for a different reason as Dilandau hurdled the table and knocked the tower away from the books with his bare hands. The matches smashed and shattered on the tabletop, spilling embers and debris across the shiny plane. A couple pieces hit the found and caught the carpet on fire. The top of the tower landed on an open book and took.

Dilandau grabbed at his hands, stripes of burned skin stretching pink across his palms. Suru let out a cry. "Dilandau!?!"

Hakai waved his fists in the air. "WHOOT! That was awesome! That was so awesome Dil, you just smacked that thing and it went FWOOSH! Wow! Firebomb!"

Merle ran and began stomping out carpet bonfires. Koneko slammed and suffocated the flames between the pages of the torched book. Suru ran straight for the sixteen-year-old against the wall. He looked up and met her eyes, his red irises contracting at the sight. His skin hurt, his head hurt, and he was more confused, both emotionally and socially, than he thought he had ever been. Suru took his injured hands from him. "Are you okay? Did you get burned?"

He studied her with a new mind, suddenly feeling like he was facing someone he had never met but knew very well. She rubbed his stripes as he stammered. "Wh-who are you?"

"Dilandau!!!" Koneko shouted over Hakai's head. "I think you're nuts! First you set the fire then you attack it!? You make no sense at all!"

"I will wrap this for you." Suru announced. She left him standing there to find a bandage.

Merle sighed, the last of the fires reduced to a black patch in the woven rug. "Oh my gosh, am I glad that we're leaving you behind."

"Who's leaving who behind?" Hakai asked.

Suru found a handkerchief in a drawer and returned to bind Dilandau's open hands. "You'll be better now." He could only stare at her.

Koneko batted at the smolders of loose matches on the table and spoke without a glance to the two boys. "I so agree Merle, when they go we'll finally get a chance to relax without worrying if they're gonna blow us up or something."

"Wait! Who's leaving!?" Hakai asked again, this time at a yell.

"You and Dilandau are going with Lord Van and Sir Allen in the Crusade." Merle reported.

Dilandau heard the names of the two people he hated the most in the world and snapped immediately back to himself again. "WHAT!?! Stuck on a ship with Van and Schezar!?! No way! I'm not going!"

"I don't think you've got much of a choice." Koneko said. "They won't let you stay. They don't trust you."

"Then I'll leave on my own." Dilandau resolved.

"They're not going to let you do that either." Merle sniggered. "They'll drag you along if they have to but you're going no matter what."

"I'll kill them!"

"Don't do that!" Suru cried.

Dilandau flinched and turned away. Merle's right eyebrow arched far up her face. "Heeey! What's wrong with you? I thought you were a psychomaniac. What's with all these pauses and freezes."

"Shut up." Dilandau spat. "Mind your own frick'n business."

Koneko frowned at him. "Well, if you're not going to come quietly we'll just have to tell Allen and he'll come and get you." She crossed her arms. "He's not leaving without you, you know."

"What does Schezar care!?" Dilandau snapped.

"He wants to make sure you're okay." Suru offered innocently from his side.

"And I come too?" Hakai asked. "Is Amano going? That's why isn't it!?"

"Amano's going." Merle answered. "Band Yukari too, they're babysitting you."

"They are not!" Hakai protested. " I'm not being babysat!"

"You've been babysat this whole time!" Koneko said, critically. "Come on, girls, let's go get the cavalry."

"Fine, enough talking." Merle agreed, cocking her hips. "I'm tired of dealing with you! C'mon Su."

The two girls and turned and moved importantly out. Suru followed but gazed sadly back at Dilandau and Hakai. Her blue eyes saw a future where the two of them were somewhere apart from her, doing things she wouldn't know they were doing and getting into danger that she wouldn't know they were in. She paused then passed out of the doorway leaving the two of them feeling confused and concerned in their own private ways.

Escaflowne

"Okay so you've got food, water, medicine, weapons, extra parts, what else do you need?" Dryden asked, checking a list Millerna had so lovingly made for him before he had a chance to do it himself.

"Dilandau and Hakai." Amano said, adjusting the belt and sword strung through the loops of his black slacks. "Then I guess we're good."

"Here are the maps of Fried." Gadess reported, "And I pulled out the ship logs from the last time we were there. I thought they might be useful."

"Thanks Gadess." Dryden said. "I'm sure it will help when they're looking for the Safehouse."'

"Okay, I've moved all my stuff back to the girl's room in the Crusade." Yukari announced. "You guys can share the room next door again if you want… I'm sure Allen will want to take back his fancy one upstairs."

"You can use the crew quarters too." The sergeant offered. "You guys really are the crew now, after all."

"That's' a good point." Amano nodded. "Maybe we'll store Dilandau and Hakai there."

Van stormed up with his hand on his Fanelian sword. "How long until we take off?"

"As soon as everyone gets here." Dryden answered. "It shouldn't be long."

"I wish they'd hurry." Van said. "I want to get this over with."

Hitomi Jiai and Millerna arrived with a bag. Hitomi waved. "Van! Van!" She rushed up and pressed a small package into his hands. "We wanted to help since we couldn't come so me made you sandwiches! I hope that's alright!"

Van blinked a couple times at her cheery face then took up the sandwich and adopted a more compassionate tone. "Thanks, Hitomi, of course it's alright."

She hung her head a little, her hands on his hand. "I'm sorry I didn't know your favorite kind. I just made what I thought you'd like."

"If you made it for me then I'm sure its fine."

"Amano! Yukari!" Jiai ran and gave them food as well. "We made some for you too!"

"Thanks Jiai!" Yukari smiled. "That's really nice!"

"Yeah thanks." Amano nodded.

Millerna held the bag and looked around. "Where's Allen?"

Everyone exchanged shrugs. Dryden answered her. "Getting ready I suppose. Who can tell?"

"Just wait around, he's got to get here sometime." Yukari assured her.

As if on cue, the knight clomped up in his boots and white sleeves, his eyes set as if he had a purpose. "Gadess!"

His first mate turned. "yes sir?"

Allen cast a look to the others and became businesslike toward Gadess. "I want you along."

"Sir?" Gadess walked over to make their conversation more private. "You want me and the crew on the Crusade?"

"I don't care if the crew comes or not."

"That's good because they really are needed here." Gadess replied. "They can barely run this ship with as many hands as they have. The four remaining workers couldn't do it on their own."

"I just want you along Gadess." Allen restated. "Someone else who knows how the ship works and has a good hand with a sword."

"I have a commanding position on this ship."

"Let Dryden take care of it, it's his responsibility." Allen said.

Gadess paused and then responded. "Alright, Boss, as you say."

"Good." Allen bobbed his approval and moved away to speak with Dryden. "Are we prepared?"

"Pretty much." He replied. "We know where we are meeting up, correct?"

Allen nodded professionally. "Fa Xian on the Gorge of Wasiey."

"The Egzardian border?" Van asked for clarification. "That's where you'll get repairs?"

"That's right." Dryden replied. "Egzardia has pretty much ignored its government and become a trade state. I've got a name there, so…"

"You'll wait there and get repairs for ten days." Allen said. "If we don't meet you there by then…"

"Or if we are found by the enemy before ten days are up…" Dryden added.

"…you move on up north to Deidlas."

"Shi Qu De is the town that services that border." Dryden said. "I was just there earlier this month. If it doesn't work out there we'll head to Skortsky on the Deidlan side, but I don't see us having any trouble. Since the Egzardian trade system is independent from the government it would be hard for the Faction to have any footing."

"We can only hope." Allen said sternly. "In all honesty we shouldn't take ten days, but if worse comes to worse don't hesitate. We must end up in the Mystic Valley before the world comes to an end."

Daiji trotted up. "Hey guys? Casting off?"

"Not quite." Dryden replied.

Amano explained further. "We're waiting for Merle and Koneko so come back with the Demon Doubles."

"Lord Van! Lord Van!" Merle's four-legged form was seen coming across the hanger.

Yukari laughed. "Man! Our timing around here is perfect today!"

Van answered her call, noticing three girls and no boys. "Where are Dilandau and Hakai?"

"They refused to come Lord Van!" Merle cried. "We tried our hardest but they wouldn't come!"

"They tried to set the ship on fire but when we told them they had to go on the Crusade with you and Allen they got all stubborn." Koneko explained.

Suru sulked over and stood next to Yukari, looking glum.

Allen and Amano adopted identical looks of frustration and outrage. Allen growled. "I should have known he'd resist."

Amano did the same. "Hakai, the bonehead… figures as much."

They both, in perfect unison, stomped their right foot, shook their left fist and announced for the hearing world; "I'll get him"; then left in a fury. The rest took about three seconds to recover from the shock and find the situation hysterically amusing.

Yosu and Seguir were also making their way to the docking bay. By chance they ended up walking together. Seguir was again in his own head, thinking this time of his conversations with Trapan and Haman, searching for any important details he might have forgotten. If there were anything he needed to share he would soon loose his chance. Yosu stared at his back with distinct skepticism. After about a minute of blistering dislike he quickened his pace and came alongside him. "Ackhem."

Seguir came back to the present and looked down to the orange-haired boy.

Yosu eyed him studiously. "What exactly are you to Hitomi?"

"What am I?" He paused. It was a good question. He was her double's father, but hat didn't necessarily make him anything special to her. Still, the two of them had a bond, a unique bond that perhaps had never before been shared by two people in the history of Gaea or Earth. His pause made Yosu even more distrusting. After some deliberation Seguir decided on a title that seemed most appropriate. "I guess I'm a friend." He looked down to his younger companion. "I guess that's the closest thing I can call it."

"A friend?" The two of them stopped in the hall facing each other. The 35-year-old felt yet again like he was on trial. Yosu set his eyes seriously. "Well, as a friend, what are your intentions toward her?"

Seguir laughed but quickly stifled it, the exclamation taking he, himself by surprise. After becoming calm he answered. "I really don't know what you think I am. If you think I'm-"

Allen and Amano stormed through the middle of the conversation kicking up a whirlwind. It passed shortly as the captain's golden locks vanished around the corner.

"-going to hurt her," Seguir finished, "then you're as far from the truth as you could be. She's too much like Ayen. I could never lay a finger on her."

"So you think of her like a daughter." Yosu reasoned, one orange eyebrow cocked.

"Yeah I guess so." Seguir nodded. "I'll protect her from the Faction and the Master. And because all of you are dear to her, I'll serve you to the last. I suppose she is my chance to make amends…"

"You're backup daughter?" Yosu was merciless.

Seguir felt deeply ashamed. "I don't want to think about it like that."

Screaming broke the air of the hall as Allen and Amano reappeared, each with a Dilandau double under their arm. Dilandau and Hakai were making a royal fuss of it.

"UNHAND ME SCHEZAR!!! I'LL KILL YOU! I SWEAR IT! PUT ME DOWN NOW!!!"

"I HATE YOU AMANO!!! I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU!!!!"

Seguir and Yosu paid more attention this time and when the two Allens passed Yosu stepped after them. "They must be getting ready to leave."

"If we follow the yelling w should find the way in time to see them take off." Seguir agreed. "Shall we?"

"Hmph." Yosu let the way.

Amano and Allen loaded their boys into the ship as cargo, locking them in Celena's room by the bridge before joining the rest of the departing people in the hangar. Millerna stepped up "I made you something to eat Allen. We thought you would be busy running the ship so Hitomi, Jiai and I made food for everyone."

Allen looked down at her and felt better, getting all his anger out on Dilandau made him feel more normal now as he ran his hand over her blonde hair. "Thank you Millerna, you're always thoughtful."

Millerna blushed. "Take care of yourself Allen."

"Bye everybody!" Yukari chirped. "We'll see you all in a few days!"

"Goodbye Yukari!" Hitomi smiled, trying to be optimistic. "Be safe until you get back."

"Oh I nearly forgot!" Millerna move to Yukari and pressed an envelope into her hand. "I wrote a letter to Chid. Please give it to him if you see hi. And tell him his Aunt Millerna thinks of him."

"Okay, Millerna, sure thing." Yukari assured.

Suru hung her head. "I wanted to say goodbye to Hakai and Dilandau but they are already inside…"

"I'll tell them you said 'bye' Su, okay?" Yukari said sweetly.

Amano scratched the back of his head. "We'll give them a knock in the head for you."

"Van…" Hitomi rushed forward and hugged him. Allen and Yosu eyed them. Seguir looked at the ground again. The Lunar girl pulled partly from her lover's grip to train her green eyes on his face. "I miss you already. Please come back safely… we haven't been able to spend much time together…"

"I'll always come back to you, Hitomi." He smiled reassuringly. "Like a strong man once said… I have a lot of preciousness to protect here."

Hitomi pulled her lips tighter, remembering the man he alluded to, the Silver Chief of the Chesarian Fox tribe. She quickly wiped her eyes to discourage any future tears from forming there. "You are my preciousness, Van. I love you."

He bent in and kissed her cheek, making her pink up brightly. Yosu cleared his throat. Allen suddenly remembered they were leaving. "We should cast off."

"We'll keep a lookout for you the whole time." Dryden called as they boarded. "Don't take any chances!"

"I can't make any guarantees." Allen reported, staring down at him as the others passed behind him into the ship. "If I must, I must. But don't worry. On my pride as a Heavenly Knight of Asturia I will bring everyone home."

Dryden nodded and the hatch closed on the Crusade. The new crew arrived at the bridge where Gadess was waiting for them. He saluted Allen. "Captain."

Allen saluted back. "Prepare for departure."

"Yes sir!" Gadess readied the rest of them. "Amano, take the levistone station. Yukari, you're on heat and propulsion. Van, if I could ask you to be lookout and gimbal monitor? Thanks. I have the helm. I brought Katz as engine hand. Everyone ready? Yukari, engage the burners. Levistones steady? Cast off!"

The ship rose from the floor of the hanger and tipped its nose out toward the open mountain air. Those remaining waved goodbye as they split their party in two and headed in separate directions toward uncertain ends.

To be continued…


	20. Episode 20: ColdHeartedness

Escaflowne: Mirrors 

Episode 20: Cold-heartedness

Chid was only seven years old and the reigning Duke of Fried. His father had been dead for nearly half a year and the job had not gotten easier as time wore on. His only comfort was that he'd finally gotten used to a new staff. Boris, the chief advisor to his father, had sacrificed himself when Zaibach invaded. His new advisor Safil was less than Boris's caliber. As the young Duke sat cross-legged in his oversized throne listening to the reedy old man's nagging voice he thought again of his late parents. His mother, Marlene Aston Fried, had died many years ago, but he still held memories of her beauty. Long blonde hair and jade eyes, her face glowed in the annals of his mind. He could recall her musical voice telling him stories of knights and dragons. His favorite? Her romanticized tales of Allen Schezar whose sword skills were unmatched by man, beast or monster.

It had been a very long time since he'd heard any stories. His father never indulged his fantasies but tried his best to build the strengths of a true leader into his son. Chid often missed his father's power. The rasping sound of Safil's lecture found its way back to his ears. "And when the aid from Zaibach comes you can reinforce the south wall like we've been planning. And also, your lordship, the ambassador from Bedlam is scheduled to be arriving next month. I've seen to it that arrangements have been made for his lodging and dining. I have also prepared the points of discussion you should make when you audience with him and listed possible resolutions that would be in the duchy's favor. I will not be with you at the meeting of course, but I assure you, Duke, that we will rehearse it so that everything passes without flaw." Chid began to zone out again, the thought of running through entire negotiations with Safil stirred suicidal thoughts. A lizard girl wearing the dust-colored servant's uniform snuck in and refilled the glass of water by his throne. He watched the liquid swill as she left, his aid still speaking. "Now, if you would please, I will read the financial report of the last month's spendings and earnings…"

A female voice interrupted from the chamber door. Chid's ears turned full attention to her. A young woman, dark skinned like the locals but shaved bald, dressed in the female, two-piece version of the Friedian military uniform. She bowed courteously and entered. "Please excuse me, Advisor, but it is time for the Duke's evening meal."

Chid nearly cheered. Dhhiya, his personal assistant and friend, had saved him from brain death yet again. "Yes yes! I'm starving!" He hopped off the throne. "We'll finish this at a later date okay?"

"Well, I think it would be more efficient…" Chid stopped and grimaced at the turn in Safil's voice. "… if I read the reports to you during dinner."

Again Dhhiya came to the rescue. "The Duke is to dine in private tonight, Sir." Chid relaxed and traipsed over to her, leaving Safil stricken dumb with his report still in hand. She nodded at him with a smirk and the two of them headed out into the hall toward his private chambers.

Once out of earshot the young Duke didn't bother to hide his gratitude. "Dhhiya! That was brilliant! I thought he would never stop!"

Dhhiya laughed, looking down to him with large, deep mahogany eyes. "When your face begins to resemble his as closely as it was just now I know its time to stop."

"You mean when my eyes go out of focus." Chid smiled. He didn't know where he would be without Dhhiya. Ruling a country at seven was hard, and he had to make adult decisions every day. His Personal Assistant was the only one around him he felt comfortable opening up to, and her warmth had a liberating affect on him. Nearly four months ago she had been assigned to him, and since then her charms and friendly nature had led him to befriend his entire personal staff from his tailor to the lady who sweeps his suite. It made his off-duty time much better than the time he'd spent alone.

They reached his private chamber shortly, the space a cluster of five or six rooms tucked into the interior of the sprawling estate. His room was large and filled with plush seating pillows, elaborate tables and sculptures with gold inlay, and thick rich fabrics. He plopped down Indian-style on a particularly fluffy green cushion and smiled broadly at Dhhiya as she held the door for the kitchen hands. The two women placed a healthy feast before him and bowed.

"Thank you!" Chid beamed. The aides whispered about how charming he was and bowed out of the room. Dhhiya moved to follow them out but her young charge called to her. "Dhhiya! You should stay! You never stay!"

She turned and bowed to him. "Sir, My place is not at your table."

"I don't mind." Chid said, waving her back to sit beside him. "We can share!"

"Gracious as always Lord Chid." Dhhiya said. "But the feast of a king is not meant for a servant. I will keep you company."

She came and sat down, but he wasn't satisfied. He pushed a bowl of dried fruit toward her. "There's too much for just me! Please, I know you haven't eaten anything today."

Dhhiya blushed a little bit, causing her amber skin to turn orange across her nose. "Okay, Lord Chid, if you really insist."

"I do! I want company, but I don't want you to have to sit there and watch me eat." He pushed the pitcher and another plate toward her. "I like having you around me. I feel like I have a family again when you stay."

She smiled sweetly at him, the lights of the lamps catching the layers of warm colors in her eyes. "It is my pleasure." She tilted her head to one side. Even uniformly hairless she still looked like a young lady of twenty. "I like being with you too Lord Chid."

"This isn't fair! I didn't agree to this! Let me out of here! Let me out RIGHT NOW!" Dilandau pounded on the door of his prison in rage. Both Yukari and Amano had their backs braced against it, trying hard to hold it shut amidst the constant barrage. "I'll kill you ALL!"

"Cut it out already!" Hakai bade from the floor where he was flicking paper wads across the room. "They're not going to open it."

"I'm gonna open it myself!" Dilandau informed him, increasing the speed of his blows to double-time.

Hakai called unenthusiastically over to him. "You know, I think you're missing a major part of your thought process… like when to quit."

"I DON'T QUIT!" Dilandau said, spitefully, even though the memories of becoming frightened and running away to hide behind Jajuka played vividly in his head.

"Maybe you should LEARN TO!" Hakai shouted over the increasing volume of Dilandau's attacks. "I mean, I don't like to give up either, but sometimes you've just got to ACCEPT that you can't do anything and STOP TRYING!"

"That's pretty ironic coming form you." Dilandau said, critically. "How many times do I say 'go away' and you keep saying "Let's do something lets do something.""

Hakai flicked the wad across the wooden floor. "You know, Celena had the opposite problem."

Dilandau flinched and turned away from the door. "What!"

"You don't stop." Hakai informed him. "She never started. You couldn't get that girl to do anything! I mean she barely moved."

Dilandau wandered over and sat down next to him. "I am getting tired of screaming and no one listening. Plus this whole room gives me a headache. It seems like I always get headaches in places like this…and I'm sick of the whole thing."

Just outside the door, Amano and Yukari noticed the disappearance of the pounding and sank together down the door. Amano sighed. "I'm glad they calmed down finally."

"Let's hope they stay that way!" Yukari said. "It's going to be a real pain if we have to keep them locked up in the same room the whole trip."

"Gadess says that the flight's gonna take all night." Amano reported. "If I have to spend all night braced against this door I'll be completely zombified tomorrow."

"Good point." Yukari groaned. "And we can't rule out the possibility of another of our infamous raids. Allen seems ready to stop at nothing to rescue Chid."

"Paternal instinct I guess." Amano huffed.

Yukari sighed. "Do you think that if…" she started blushing, "…if the two of us ever got married and had a son he'd look like Chid?"

Amano took a second to swallow. "Hold it –what?"

"Do you think he'll be cute? I hope our son is cute someday." Yukari dreamed.

"When did we start having kids?" Amano asked.

"Well, I guess whenever Allen and Marlene did." Yukari said. "Chid is half Allen and half Marlene, and since you're him and I'm her… it would make Chid ours then right?"

"Oh yeah." Amano's tone seemed to fall deflated and dull.

Yukari was a little hurt by the sound. "Is the idea of us having a kid that terrible to you?"

"No it's not that!" He said, recovering quickly. She eyed him and he was forced to launch an explanation. "Its me and Allen again. I try my best to forget that we're the same person but I always seem to remember."

"All it takes is a mirror." Yukari said. "I think it's too bad that you don't like Allen. I mean, if you don't like yourself…" She took a moment to look more closely at him. His eyebrows arched. "You don't feel… insecure with yourself do you?"

"I don't what?" Amano cried. "What makes you think I'm insecure?"

"Well, you don't like Allen, maybe you don't like yourself." Yukari concluded. "I thought maybe if you were sub confident or, I don't know, uncomfortable with who you are, personally, it would explain things."

"I'm perfectly fine with who I am." Amano said, defensively, but her blast of insight had him thinking. "Well, at least I was. I used to be. But when I learned that Allen and I were more than just "connected" I started getting … worried I guess. I don't like Allen. He's so judgmental and angry. I'm not like that am I?"

"Maybe toward him." She answered. He scowled. "No but, okay, Allen's what? 21? 22? Look at his life so far! He's seen so much more than you have."

"Then maybe I should be afraid for my future." Amano replied. "What's gonna happen to make me inevitably turn into him."

"Nothing has to happen!" Yukari said, but realized with one look that he was not pleased with her support at all. "What I'm trying to say is that Allen isn't as bad as you think he is. Truthfully, yes, he is a little uptight, but there are good things about him too. A lot of things in him I see in you. You're both strong, talented, dedicated, loyal and compassionate. Those aren't bad things. Allen's risked his life over and over again for the people he cares about. I get that same conviction and love from you every day. You've both got that knightly sense of regal duty… look at how you take care of Suru and Hakai."

"They're family."

"But even more than that!" Yukari insisted. "You watch out for them like an older brother! What I'm getting at is that the good stuff is there for both of you. Allen's just had a harder time of it. He's learned to be more careful."

"So I'm reckless." Amano said cynically.

"No." She was losing patience. "You're more open for risk. You should be happy. It means you haven't had to watch your parents and loved ones tortured and killed."

"No I haven't…" his voice was getting heated, "I haven't done brave and heroic things. And I haven't watched everyone around me die miserable deaths. Does that make me less than him?" Yukari recognized what he was doing, Amano was digging down into the deepest part of himself and dragging up all the nasty parts. Usually she was flattered to be opened up to, but now it felt like she was just taking abuse. She watched as he shoved himself up and began pacing in front of her. "Four years isn't that much time! I'll be 21 before long – am I supposed to go through some kind of cataclysmic disaster and become antsy and overprotective? That's what Allen is and I'm nothing like him! No way!"

Yukari frowned deeply. "Amano stop it! You're being unfair."

"I'm NOTHING like him!" Amano snapped. "Not now! Not ever!" He turned and stormed off down the hall. "Nothing!"

Yukari felt the blood running to her face. She cupped her hands and yelled at his retreating back. "Pride is another thing you have in common! If you stepped back from yourself half a second maybe you'd see how thick-headed you're being!"

He didn't look back.

Allen had heard the fight. The halls of his ship were made of metal and hardly soundproof. He'd heard every word from where he leaned by the door, and could hear Amano's angry footsteps coming up the corridor. He quickly came off and into the center of the room, appearing casual. The Earther stormed straight past the cockpit without a second's thought. Gadess and Van were at their stations and turned when the clomping came and faded. Van looked to Allen. "What was the yelling about?"

"Nothing serious." Allen answered. "Amano and Yukari were just trying to keep those two demons under control."

"I'd have thought it was a lover's spat." Gadess said sounding amused with a little bit of a smile. Overall he was feeling pretty optimistic about the trip, and it felt good to be flying his home ship again. Van shook his head.

Allen, true to form, was thinking. Thoughts of words said behind his back, of the woman in the hall and the man that left her there, yelling and accusations, flowing golden hair and jade eyes; he turned over his shoulder. Yukari wasn't coming. He addressed the two men with him in the room. "Van, Gadess, I don't know if you realize, but I consider you two of my most trusted companions."

They each turned an ear to him. Gadess recognized the turn in his voice. "Yeah, Boss, we're listening."

Allen bowed his head, letting his long golden bangs fall over his closed eyes. "We all know that Yukari is Marlene from Earth." The audience waited through the pause. "And that I'm still in love with Marlene from Gaea. Do you think, if there was a chance that Yukari and I could … restore … that relationship would it be my place to take it?"

"Boss," Gadess said gravely, "you are considering courting Yukari?"

"But Yukari is with Amano isn't she?" Van asked, not really interested in the twists of Allen's love life. "Are you expecting to steal her from yourself?"

"I wouldn't do that." Allen said, not as firm in his conviction as he would have liked to be. "But if the chance rose…"

"There is nothing wrong with dating a Lunar." Van announced. "It is perfectly acceptable as far as I'm concerned."

"Don't act irrationally, though, Boss." Gadess warned. "While she is Marlene's double, she is not Marlene. She may not be so anxious to "restore" the relationship as you put it. And you can't expect her to be exactly like Marlene."

Allen opened his eyes to reveal a hard, solid blue. "If we are destined… then she will be."

Yukari marched in from the hall sourly and began to look over the maps, grumbling to herself.

Gadess felt the irking persuasion to lighten the mood. "We're headed west southwest."

"That's taking us straight to…" She narrowed her eyes on the map and traced her finger along their path. "Godasim."

"The capital city." Van explained. "We'll be able to tell pretty quickly if its peaceful or not."

"And then we will find Chid." Allen said. "And you will get to meet your son."

Yukari was immediately reminded of the conversation in the hall and narrowed her eyes. "Yeah I know."

"We should get there by sunrise I think." Gadess announced. "If the weather holds. We all should rest tonight and begin whatever it is we plan to do tomorrow morning."

"That sounds like a good plan." Van agreed. "I'll go find Amano… then we'll decide on the bridge shifts and turn in."

Areolar was the pinnacle of power. Standing on the bridge of his – his not his commander's – ship with his chest thrown forward and his arms crossed. He surveyed his crew busy at work. They were all following his orders. He liked the taste of power, the knowledge that anything said to any one of these men would be immediately carried out. He jutted his jaw sharply and boomed to his helmsman. "Take us straight into Godasim! I want us there without a moment to waste!"

" Yes sir."

He strode across the riveted metal floor, his boot heels making solid sounds as he moved. He stared out over the land and the jutting levistones. The Ventrags were beginning to thin out, their cold faces becoming steadily greener as they rolled toward the southern sea. The new commander took a moment to bathe in his vision of the future. 'Soon,' he thought, 'soon this whole planet will return to its rightful owners and I will see it done. It will be a world called up by my hands.'

Resultant arrived on deck again. It seemed like every time Areolar was enjoying some time in his own glory, his hotheaded captain would appear. He assumed it was because the 19 year old was impatient and annoying, but the truth of the matter was that since the rest of his detachment had either defected or been left behind, Resultant had nowhere else to go. "How much longer?"

"Still no respect." Areolar scowled. "I am the supreme being on this ship. You do NOT just wander up and demand things."

"Fine, sir." Resultant hissed. "How much longer?"

"Long enough." Areolar replied. "We'll reach Godasim as soon as possible."

"GODASIM!" Resultant cried, outraged, "I thought we were after the ship with Escaflowne on it!"

"That can wait." Areolar replied, grinning to himself. "I'm in charge of the whole army while Trapan is in Asgard. I've got to make sure that occupation is going well."

"This isn't fair!" Resultant fumed. "You promised me payback!"

"Lets take a second to figure out who is in control here," Areolar suggested with more than a hint of malice, "who of the two of us is the Commander?" Resultant glared at him through his red bangs. "Who of the two of us most recently killed someone?"

The young man backed down, his eyes slitting as he stared at the self-confident rogue who was sneering back.

Areolar read his withdrawal as a confession of defeat and threw his head cockily. "That's what I thought. Now get off my bridge. Go plan your revenge somewhere where you won't be in my way."

Resultant's face turned nearly the color of his bloodish locks as he stormed out. None of the crewmembers paid him any mind, and the commander turned back to his window taking pride in his accomplishments. He'd done good work in the past…and he'll continue to do so in the future.

Weaving northward through the Ventrags, another captain stood on the bridge of another ship. With Allen and Gadess gone, Dryden knew it was up to him to watch things. He made sure he was kept informed and stayed mostly in the control room. It was a position he was not used to being in and didn't particularly like. He was usually waited on while servants did this kind of work, but it was unmistakable now where his responsibilities lie. Perhaps he was following some gut instinct he'd never noticed before. Perhaps he was following Allen's example. Who knew.

No matter how dedicated Daiji was to his friend, the 21-year-old found he could only stand on the bridge useless for so long. He had taken to exploring the ship again, intrigued by the Gaean style of art and décor, as well as interested in anything he could find about 'himself'. In yet another side study he found a particularly amusing portrait. It was a painting of the Fassa family from around fifteen years ago. Daiji studied it closely. He couldn't help but notice a couple key things. The Fassas were very rich, well decked in jewels for the scene. Dryden was very cute at about six. His mother was very beautiful, and his father was very, very ugly.

Millerna wandered in, fiddling with the chain around her neck again. She quickly tucked it in her shirt when she noticed him standing there. "Daiji?"

He looked up. "Oh, hi Millerna."

She wandered over and stood next to him, looking up at the portrait. "I've never noticed that painting before."

Daiji shrugged. "I find new rooms in this place all the time. You need a map to get around."

"Is that Dryden?" Millerna pointed, amused. "He was so adorable!"

"He's better than me." Daiji mused. "When I was that age my mother thought I was cute with a bowel cut. Its embarrassing to see pictures…especially since someone leaked them to the internet."

"Internet?" Millerna asked.

Daiji laughed again to himself. "Nevermind, its an Earth thing."

Millerna let her head tilt to one side as she stared at the picture a little longer. "Lady Fassa was stunning."

"Yeah," Daiji agreed, "But when you think about it… I guess she kind of has to be. I mean I figure she's got to be gorgeous for Dryden to turn out as well as he did and have that guy as his father."

Millerna laughed. She'd grown up with Meiden Fassa around the palace, since he was a chief advisor to her father. "I always thought he was a little unattractive."

"The man's ugly, Millerna, let's face facts."

"He did use to scare me as a child." She admitted. "Does your father look like that?"

Daiji whistled and shook his head. "Noooooooo. My Dad is so much better looking than that! He'd never have gotten elected with a face like that."

Millerna smiled and paused a moment to study Daiji. Hitomi's observation was right when she said that he and his double had the closest connection. Perhaps, the queen speculated, that meant that he was an authority on his other self. She decided it was worth a shot. "Daiji, may I ask you a question?"

"Sure, Millerna, anything you want."

"Do you…" She pinked up a little, "…do you think Dryden is okay? Sometimes he gets so sad…"

"Dryden's depressed." Daiji answered. "It comes and goes at times. I think it was all the guilt that did to him, myself. I mean he's not a stranger to the fact that he left a whole country hanging. But we'll fix it, no need to worry."

She tried to keep her hands from moving, the feeling of the rings against her skin coming to her consciousness. "Do you think he really loves me?"

"I can tell you that one without a doubt." Daiji said with a look of confidence she hadn't seen on Dryden's face for half a year. "The minute you walk in I get it in the chest. He's smitten, Millerna."

She liked the sound of that. "Does he love me enough to try again?"

Daiji became more serious, but not upset. He thought a second before responding. "He's getting more comfortable in his own skin. I think, if you asked, he'd do anything for you Millerna. You'll just have to help convince him that he can."

"Millerna!" Jiai cried, rushing in. "I finally found you! The girls are starting a game down where we had lunch! Would you like to play?"

"I'd loved to!" Millerna smiled.

Jiai noticed Daiji and stumbled a little. "Y-You can come too! It was Hitomi's idea, but I don't think we'd mind if you… you know… hung out."

He smiled at her. "Maybe in a bit. I think I wanna find Dryden's room and start looking through his stuff."

"Daiji!" Jiai cried. "That's awful!"

"Oh, he doesn't care!" Daiji assured. "It's me after all, and I do have to find it first, it's like a treasure hunt."

"Well, don't mess anything up…" Jiai warned, "or, well, don't do anything to make Dryden mad or anything, I don't want to see you two not getting along."

"Really, 'Ai, don't worry about it."

She and Millerna bid goodbye and left down the hall. The young queen laughed to herself. "You two are cute."

"What?" Jiai cried. "We – you mean me and Daiji? Cute!"

"You get all nervous." Millerna kidded. "It makes me feel giddy seeing you."

"Because I remind you of yourself." Jiai said. "Just because he's Dryden and I'm you doesn't mean… I mean for sure… that Daiji and I are destined does it?"

Millerna looked knowingly. "I don't know… if fate is copied… it could."

Jiai's eyes brightened. "You really think so! Wow! I mean, I've been a Daiji Seijitsu fangirl like everyone else for, like a year or something but I would never imagine…" She stopped herself. "What am I saying? I'm sorry, I got carried away." Millerna simply laughed at her again. They arrived at the galley after a long winding walk to find Hitomi, Merle, Koneko, and Suru already waiting there.

Hitomi waved excitedly. "Millerna! Great, Jiai, you found her!"

Koneko scoffed. "We were sure you were lost for good."

"Hitomi's gonna teach us a card game." Merle said. The cat girl swept her tail behind her in excitement.

"I thought it would be fun to have some girl time since most of the guys are busy." Hitomi explained, feeling like a teenager.

Millerna and Jiai sat down around the table with the rest and Hitomi passed out the cards. Koneko watched hers pile up in front of her. "Where'd you find these anyway? Don't tell me you had a deck of cards in your pocket the whole time."

"I did." Suru volunteered.

Jiai laughed. "You didn't! This whole time?"

Suru began to empty her pockets onto the table. "I have candy too if you want some."

"That's very nice, Suru, but you don't have to – " Jiai assured, giggling as jacks, trash, costume jewelry and other assorted odds and ends appeared on the table.

"Okay," Hitomi got their attention again, "everybody pick up your cards. We're playing a game called Crazy 8s. Earthlings, you probably know it."

"Its like Uno right?" Koneko asked.

"Yeah without the reverses and stuff.

"Please explain the rules." Millerna appealed. "I've never heard of Uno."

"Don't worry, it's easy enough to catch on to." Jiai assured her. "You try to get rid of all the cards in your hand by matching them with the card on the top of the pile. The first person out wins."

Hitomi turned the top card over. "This is the discard pile. When it's your turn you try to get rid of a card here by matching it either by number or suit…er… symbol. If it's the same suit or number then you can put the card on top and the next person has to match it to get rid of their card."

"And the 8s are crazy!" Koneko said. "They change the stack to be anything you want! So use them as a trick when you've got nothing else to play."

"Understand?" Jiai asked.

"I get it!" Merle cried.

"Maybe I'll learn better as we go along…" Millerna suggested. "Let's just begin."

"Okay." Hitomi pulled her first card out of her hand and placed it down. Suru went next and did the same. Merle matched the suit with her turn.

"Did I do it right?"

"Yep." Koneko confirmed, matching Merle's by number.

It was Millerna's turn. "What do I do when I don't have a card I can play?"

"Draw one from the pile." Hitomi replied.

She did. "What if I cannot play this one either?"

"Then draw until you do." Hitomi replied.

"Nuh uh!" Koneko contested. "You draw one and then give up your turn!"

"I never learned it that way." Hitomi replied.

'Then you learned it wrong!" Koneko insisted. "You only draw one… otherwise the game is done like that!"

Hitomi didn't like being contradicted. "Listen, I'm the dealer! We'll play with my rules!"

"But they're WRONG!"

Millerna found herself laughing. Jiai asked her why over the argument. "What's so funny?"

"Its just that… Hitomi and Merle fought like this all the time too…" Millerna replied. "It reminds me of fun times."

"An argument reminds you of fun times?" Merle asked, twitching her ears. "You're weird, your highness."

Yosu had again run across Seguir. The 35-year-old had found a little peace flipping through a book in one of the libraries when the orange-haired teen interrupted him with another of his interrogation sessions. "So…" Seguir looked up, "you see Hitomi as a daughter?"

Seguir's eyes closed and he shut the book on his hand to keep his place. "I guess so."

"So you think that makes you her father right?"

"I am her double's father." Seguir replied.

"That's not what I asked."

"Biologically I'm not." Seguir admitted. "But spiritually, I think I am."

"And what does that mean?" Yosu pressed.

Seguir turned and looked him over studiously. Yosu was a portrait of a protective older brother, and there was something endearing about that. He smiled at him. "I understand what you're doing, but you don't have to worry. Hitomi is safe with me."

Yosu came around to sit on the couch across from him. His brown eyes stared through his forking orange bangs. Seguir felt those eyes measure and weigh every detail of him with laser precision. "Is she really? I know you think you know what's best for her, but she is not your daughter and she isn't from your world either. Don't assume that you can make her decisions for her."

"I wouldn't do that to Ayen, nor would I do it to Hitomi." Seguir assured him. "She's fourteen. She has responsibility over her life."

"Hitomi is fifteen not fourteen."

"Oh," Seguir moved the book on his lap. "I guess that was Ayen. But even so, that's more reason for her to have responsibility. All I want is to make sure she isn't taken by the Master the way that Ayen was."

"So this is like a make-up test for you." Yosu said, shrewdly. "A chance for you to redeem yourself where you failed last time."

His comment stung, but Seguir tried to keep himself professional. "I suppose that's what it comes down to." His stomach knotted tightly as he admitted it. Yosu was even more intrigued hearing the man confirm his theory. Seguir put the book on the table between them, giving up any chance of returning to what he was doing. He didn't really want to anymore. "It hurts me to admit that I'm being selfish, but deep down, I do feel responsible for Ayen, and I really want to do something to get rid of the guilt. She would have never been involved if it wasn't for me. I think often over all the steps I've taken – searching for what I could have done differently that would have seen her alive right now. But in the end it doesn't make any difference and I feel helpless. Maybe there was nothing I could have done to stop it from the very beginning."

Yosu's smirk melted. His personal victory seemed insignificant to the tremendous loss Seguir was suffering even now. It made the 16-year-old seem very shallow in comparison. He felt a little ashamed of the way he'd been constantly checking Seguir's every move. "I don't think it was your fault."

Seguir was startled out of another one of his reflections. "Excuse me?"

"You blame yourself for things in the past that were out of your control." He bowed his head a little, finding something in his own heart that made him feel genuine. For the first time in a long time, he actually felt like himself. "It's not fair to blame yourself for things you couldn't help. Even the events that led up to your daughter's death were beyond you're control, really. You were only doing what you thought was best, even at great personal risk you tried to make the best decisions. I would have done the same things, I'm sure, if I were in your position. And as it stands, neither you nor I can do anything about it now."

This moment of thoughtfulness meant more than just the words coming from a source of so much scrutiny. Seguir's green eyes smiled a little. "Thank you very much. I had no idea that such a young man could have such a wise nature. You've surprised me."

"Well," Yosu rubbed a hand over the back of his head. "I'm not wise. I can only say what's on my mind, but if it helps you out I guess it makes me glad. Since I've gotten here, I swore to protect Koneko and Hitomi but with all these more capable swordsmen and prominent names I guess I feel sort of useless. I find myself wondering why I even came."

"You've proven to be good for me." Seguir assured him. "If anything else, you're useful in that regard. I was doubting my decision to find all of you, but seeing how you've accepted me after all of your questions I feel better about it."

"Hmph." Yosu let his eyes drop. The Captain's next statement shocked him to his heart.

"I was starting to think that King Van and Sir Allen would never accept me."

Yosu swallowed hard for a second. "You didn't? Not Van?"

"No, he seems so comfortable on the other side," Seguir said with a sigh, "I think he'll find it easiest to just continue disliking me. It takes a lot more to change a person's mind when it's made up as firmly as Van's is."

The Earther smiled a little to himself. He presented his hand. "I'm Yosu."

Seguir looked up to his face and smiled as well. "Call me Seguir if you like. It's my first name, and it's more than Lord Van or Sir Allen will ever want to call me, I'm sure." He reached out and they shared a firm clasp.

"Nice to meet you."

"Nice to be met."

"Its getting dark," Gadess observed, "everything seems fine. Should we do the bridge shifts?"

"I suppose that would work." Amano agreed, sounding grouchy.

"I suppose so." Yukari agreed in a similar tone. Apparently nothing had been settled in the last hour or so.

Van looked around. He was no expert on the ways of love, but he was perceptive. The atmosphere was charged enough to run the ship on tension alone. He had to do something to get them off the bridge, for the good of the bystanders at least. "I volunteer to take the first shift. I think we should hold two hour posts."

"Good plan." Gadess agreed. "I'll relieve you."

"And then I'll take the post in four hours." Allen determined.

There was a very long bit of silence while Yukari and Amano stood oblivious to the world. Gadess was the bravest among them and leaned on the helm to break the intense nonverbal war. "Do either of you have a preference?"

Yukari quirked an eyebrow tersely. "Amano should probably go last since he refuses to take responsibility for himself and would rather project his problems on everyone else."

Amano's attention snapped to her. "I WHAT?" He closed his eyes and growled for a second before returning fire. "No no, Yukari should have first choice since she ahs no casual regard for other's feelings and would rather point her demanding finger at other people."

"I do not!" She cried, "you are the one who started yelling at me for no reason! I don't have to suffer just because YOU have issues!"

"Well, shame on me for thinking you'd understand! You're only my girlfriend!"

"I'm not Super girl or anything." She snapped at him. "I'm not made of steel."

"Lemme guess…" he said, mockingly, "you're rubber I'm glue?"

She gaped at him. "You're so immature."

Gadess, Allen and Van let their eyes wander. The Sergeant stretched his neck a little and cleared his throat. "So, we'll just say Amano will follow Allen and Yukari can go last okay?"

There were no words of dissent – no words at all really – so they just assumed that it was agreed. Van walked over and took the helm. "I'll send someone to wake you, Gadess, when your turn is up."

"Send who?" Allen asked, obviously.

Van grumbled a little, embarrassed to have forgotten the size of their crew. Gadess smiled to himself. "I'll just get myself up okay. I'll relieve you in two hours."

"Fine."

Allen stuck his head in between the two combatants. "Yukari? Amano? Why don't you go get some rest while we have the chance."

Yukari looked at him, then becoming facetious, cast her eyes on Amano. "That sounds like a good idea Allen, I think I'll do that. But don't expect Amano to. He won't take the advice if only because it came from you." Her snark became a glare and she marched out.

Amano shouted after her. "Figures you'd be on his side! Maybe you should just take him instead! We're the same person! You'd probably like him better!"

The captain hung his head as Amano stormed out after her. Gadess had to pause. This little lover's quarrel was not going to die easily and he could read his friend well enough to understand how Amano's last statement had been interpreted. He spoke very seriously. "Boss… don't do anything rash…"

"Excuse me." Allen turned with a rush of hair and vanished into the corridors.

Gadess cast Van a shrug of uselessness and left for a two-hour nap. Van turned and stared out the front windows at the darkened landscape, feeling drained.

Down below a door slammed. Allen rushed to the sound. He stopped a moment before Yukari's room. Behind this portal was the double of his one true love. A woman long stripped from him by a cruel fate. She also was not on good terms with her boyfriend. He'd be a fool not to take this chance. Without distraction, he was sure Yukari could learn to love him.

With confidence he knocked on her door.

A perturbed voice answered. "Who is it?"

"Its me," he replied, but realized the statement had no meaning while he and Amano shared the same voice, "Allen."

"Allen?" Her footsteps were heard. She eased open the door. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to you about something."

"Like what kind of something?" Yukari asked, her mood no brighter. "If its stuff about Fried can it wait until morning? I really don't want to discuss technical stuff right now."

"Its not about that." Allen assured her. "It's a more personal topic."

She stared. "Okay then come in I guess." She left the door open and returned to sitting on the bed where she'd been undoing her shoes. Allen moved to stand over her.

The knight was not a stranger to the art of seduction. He was a veritable magnet for women. Yet he still found this conversation a little difficult. He had never approached a woman who was fuming before, nor had he tried to woo someone who was already involved. Still there was the doubles angle…and he was comfortable knowing the kind of person she was. He decided to take the approach he would have chosen if facing Marlene, since that, essentially was what he was doing. "To start, I know that you are fully aware that you are the Lunar counterpart of Marlene, and that Marlene and I were romantically involved before she was married."

"That's playing it down a bit don't you think?" Yukari asked, feeling like she was about to have the same argument with a different Amano. "You had a son together after all."

"Yes, you're right of course… I just didn't want to intimidate you with the details."

"Intimidate me?" Yukari asked, a note of suspicion in her voice. "Why would I be intimidated?"

"Well, it's just that…" His head spun as he tried to qualify things. Perhaps a fresh start was in order. "Yukari, I have seen how you and Amano have fought tonight."

Yukari looked even more angry, but a little sad as well. "I guess it was hard to miss, we have been digging at each other a lot."

"It seems like you have reached a roadblock," Allen observed, "and that your relationship has broken." He sat down next to her and took her hand. The Earther stopped and stared in near disbelief. Allen's blue eyes seemed to sparkle in the lamplight. "Dear Yukari, I know Amano served you in the past, but I cannot help but feel you have been shorthanded. He was what you had on the Mystic Moon, but he is unworthy of you. In truth, I say that I have loved you since I laid eyes on you in Palas that fateful night. Your radiance is one that existed across worlds. And your shine – your shine is she same as the shine that I found in Marlene. Seeing as you and she are one in the same, I love you as much if not identically as I loved her; with all my heart and from the depths of my soul.

"It is my sincere belief that you would love me too if you would take the chance of loving someone from another world. I am all that you saw in Amano, but even more. My age and experience allows me to take you places he could not and give you things that are beyond his ability to give.

"I implore you, dear Yukari, to meet our destiny. We were meant to be together, fate's hand both delivering each other's doubles then taking them away. I dare not ask this while you and Amano were together, but seeing now that it is over between you, I have peace in my heart when I ask you to please see me with the light that was reflected by him. Please be with me, be my Marlene for me, be mine as destiny planned for you to be mine, so that we may love each other purely, knowing that no more trial may touch us."

Yukari blinked slowly, his gloved hands enveloping hers in a warm embrace. She could feel him inching toward her, eager for her consent, perhaps a kiss for a seal, or a tear to fall from her eye. She felt like she was in a dream and that none of what she was experiencing now was real. She saw in his face the moment in her living room when his hair and eyes were projected through Amano like a phantom rising from the dark. In the same way, she came back to her senses.

Calmly, she removed her hand.

"Allen." The girl walked from the bed, leaving him to lean and stare after her. "You are a handsome love struck person and I can see in you what you begged me to see." She turned to him, golden flowing hair and aquamarine eyes filling his sight. "But, I love Amano."

"Yukari," he was confused and a little panicked. Seconds ago he was certain she'd say 'yes'. Even now he was sure a bit of persuasion would change her mind. He rushed to her and took her shoulders. "Can't you see? We're the same person! The love you have for Amano could be meant for me. Is it so impossible to believe that you and I could be reunited after so long?"

She suddenly felt an intense sadness swell in her chest. He looked so desperate as he stared at her. He was a frayed hope-worn man standing just out of reach from his heart's desire. She wanted then with all her heart to be what he wanted her too, but lies were still lies, even the one he was telling himself now. He tightened his lips in anticipation and she recognized the look as one worn on Amano's face that moonlit night on the Crusade. He'd said it was a loneliness he'd never felt… like he was going to cry but knew he had no shoulder to do it on. She remembered how the light hit Amano's brown eyes when she'd kissed him.

Allen tightened his grip on her shoulders and she tried to smile through her own pain. "I know you think you love me Allen, but you don't. You love Marlene. I know she loved you very much. I can feel it in me now, and it's making me dizzy and lightheaded. But despite the doubles and the similarities, I'm afraid that I'm no more Marlene than you are Amano, and I realized looking at you now that I love him that much more. We're far from over, Allen. The fighting and yelling just means that we're growing, and I can't possibly leave it now." She reached up and took his face in her hands. With a slight tug she coaxed him down and remembering the night in the moonlight when Amano had felt so alone, she kissed him.

It was, perhaps, the first time Allen had ever been kissed with such sadness. He was flooded with memories of lost love. He could feel his heat breaking a million times as he closed his eyes and imagined one last kiss, one farewell to his sweet golden star as it shone brightly for a moment and warmed him with the touch, smell, and feel of its light.

When Yukari let go tears were stinging his closed eyelids. He moved his hands to cover hers where they rested on his cheeks, every thread of his heart and mind feeling for Marlene, seeing her standing right there with him, her hands on his face, her taste on his lips and her love in his heart.

It was nearly unbearable how cold and hurt he felt inside.

Yukari watched as his tears slid slowly down, tears of her own beginning to flow. She pulled down her hands, holding his between them and waiting for his eyes to open again. He put it off as long as possible, but when they did they were swimming, seeing a reddish-haired brown-eyed girl standing where an angel was just before. Yukari spoke to him. "I'm sorry. I know how much you loved Marlene, and I'm sad for both of you, but she died. She's gone, Allen, and I'm very very sorry that I can't be her for you. All I can tell you is this, she wants you to be happy. I want you to be happy too. But you can't chase her anymore. That what you're doing right now with me, it's what you were doing before with Millerna, but you've got to let her go. You can't chase shadows, it will only hurt you again and again." He hung his head, but she stared even more intently. "Please stop chasing her. Move on. Let her go. Live your life for the present and the future, not the past. Its what she would want. Its what she would say if she were here right now."

"She was here." He said, stricken. Yukari felt her heart stop. "She just kissed me goodbye."

She was worn out inside, and the sound of his voice shattered her. With a sob she hugged herself to his chest. He put up his arm around her shoulder and let the last of his sorrow flow down his face into her hair. She rocked him back and forth, her heart breaking for his heartbreak. It killed her that she could do nothing to help him. She could kiss Amano to make him feel better, but she had no power to heal Allen's heart, all she could do was be his shoulder and let him cry.

Amano hadn't gone to his room, instead he'd been traipsing around the Crusade grumbling. It wasn't long before he'd found himself outside Celena's room where the two Dilandau doubles were being unusually quiet. He peeked inside.

"Okay, I'm gonna get mine further."

"Further than what? Mine's against the wall! Show me how you're planning to get yours further than that!"

"When it hits the wall it'll move yours back."

"Bullcrap! That doesn't count!"

"Shut up! Here I go! Watch!" Hakai got ready. The boys had built themselves a ski-ramp out of loose articles and were distance-shooting candlesticks across the room. Hakai took both ends of a long candle and propelled it with full body weight down the slide. The wax stick soared off the ramp, broke in two on the ceiling, and came down to hook itself by the wick on a lamp sconce like a pair of linked sausages.

Dilandau sniggered in triumph. "Burn! Eat that! You try and you fail!"

Hakai stuck his tongue out at his double and noticed Amano in the doorway. He took his guard immediately. "What are you doing here?"

Dilandau turned and put his hands on his hips. "Yeah, seriously. You've already locked us in this room, what do you want from us now? Should we dance for you?"

"No, please," he replied sarcastically, "anything but dancing."

Hakai cocked an eyebrow. "What's eating you?"

"I'm not going to talk about it."

The blond looked to his double and shrugged. "Suits me."

Amano pulled a chair up against the wall and leaned back in it, raising two legs off the ground. "Have you two been shooting candles all night?"

"Not all night." Hakai answered. "First we just broke 'em on stuff. Then we turned the table into a ramp and started racing them. Then we decided to go for distance and THEN we started shooting them."

"That's pretty creative, honestly." Amano noted. "I didn't expect so much from you."

"You give us precious little else to do." Dilandau replied. "If I were back as a Captain of Zaibach, I'd entertain myself in even more creative ways, but no… I'm penned up all day."

"I figured you'd be burning something by now." Amano replied, cynically.

Dilandau glared at him. "Burning stuff is great and all, but we used all Hakai's matches building that tower. If we had some leftover I could show you the real meaning of fun, Schezar clone, but as it is now I'd have to rub two sticks together and I ain't got the patience for that."

"You can threaten me all you want." Amano assured. "You don't scare me."

Dilandau took on a crafty look. "I haven't tried yet."

"Hey, Dil!" Hakai nudged. "I bet you can't hang a candle on that lamp like that."

"I hear a challenge." Dilandau hissed. "You're on."

Amano studied them for a minute. Seeing a pair of impartial parties, he decided to field a question. At best they'd be brutally honest, at worst they'd mock him. It was more than he'd get out of anyone else on the ship. "Hey, guys…  
They stopped, perplexed. For once it seemed Amano was addressing them as equals. It made the query interesting. "What?"

"You guys are pretty perceptive." Amano began. "When you see me, how much do I seem like Allen?"

"You mean physically or socially?" Dilandau asked. "Because you've got his looks and his voice."

"And he's bossy like Allen." Hakai added.

"They're both a pair of pansies." Dilandau said. "They're bossy like bullies, but they're so romantically driven that we could drown in their sap."

It seemed to Hakai that this ridicule had turned into a game. "You're right, they're both girl crazy."

"And Jealous of each other."

"And selfish!" Hakai cried. "They think about them and ignore me!"

"Who's selfish, now?" Dilandau prodded. "No, Allen's the selfish one. If I've noticed one thing about Schezar it's that he thinks he's the center of the universe. Every soldier would fail in a fight with him. Every girl would faint at the sight of him. Anything and everything that pervert does is for his own benefit. Amano's not power-tripping like that, really, what he is is wishy-washy. He's led around by Yukari on a leash."

"Amano's weak you're right."

"They're both prideful and self-centered." Dilandau pointed out. "That's what you meant. They both read stuff to make them look good. The sun rises, it's got something to do with how fabulous they are. The ship breaks, it must be something they did wrong. Plus they think they're always right and neither of them can get their minds changed unless they change it themselves. The rest of us have to suffer for it, too."

"Really?" Amano asked.

"Uh, duh." Hakai said. "Don't think we missed that huge fight you had. You were right outside our door!"

"The chick was trying to turn the sap on and you totally exploded on her." Dilandau said offhandedly. "If it were on purpose I'd applaud but since it was just you being a jerk, no cigar. Still, it was a pleasant deviation from the lovey-ness that seems to breed among you people."

Amano bowed his head. "You guys are right." They raised their eyebrows. "I'm all those things you said. And you're right that Yukari was trying to help me and I lost my temper. I was stuck trying to prove how Allen was worse than I am. That's because I was afraid he was better. Yukari was right all along. What I'm so angry at is myself, and all those negative things you mentioned. I see them in Allen and it makes me aware of them in myself. Or maybe it's the jealousy and pride I'm trying to get rid of."

The monologue had put the boys in a state of instant boredom. They rolled their eyes and returned to their game of target practice. Amano sat in his chair for a while pondering his epiphany and finally arrived at a course of action.

"I'm going to find Yukari."

Dilandau and Hakai ignored him as he landed his chair and swept out of the room. The 17-year-old raced down the halls again, jumping stairs on his way to the quarters. Arriving, he bolted into the door. "Yukari!"

She jumped out of Allen's arms and stared panic-stricken at the man in the doorway. Amano's eyes flashed back and forth between the two of them, for a moment becoming incredibly furious, staring knives into Allen with his brown eyes. But, as he did, he recalled what he'd thought of upstairs. His hatred for Allen was uneasiness with himself. That knowledge seemed to strip the blond of all his power.

Amano pointed a finger at the knight, who hid behind a veil of hair. "You stay away from her! You're me and I won't have you exploiting my and Yukari's relationship!"

"Amano," Yukari begged, "don't…"

He glanced to her, his brow still creased and his voice still booming. "I love you Yukari! You were right about the whole thing and I'm an idiot! You don't have to put up with whatever issues I dish out and I wont make you! I'll never do it again and I'm sorry!" He turned back to Allen. "As for you… I want to get one thing straight! I don't like you because you're so much like me, and there's some parts of me I don't like. Remember that when you mooch off my girlfriend pal, because I can be just as mean and self-righteous as you can and I won't let you take the woman I love!"

Allen couldn't say a word. He felt awful. Yukari's heart was primed for emotion. She ran up and grabbed Amano from the side. "I love you too! I'm sorry to fight! I behaved terribly! Don't be mad anymore!"

He was shocked out of anger. "Yu? Wha – Well, I'm sorry too! I was worse. Don't cry."

She looked up at him. "I really do love you. You knew that all the time we were fighting right? I told Allen that - that the fighting didn't mean anything because I never doubted that you loved me. You loved me all through that right? Nothing changed?"

"Yeah I did." He hugged her tight. "Wow. That never even entered my mind. I guess I take you more for granted than I realized."

She sighed and relaxed, glad to be safe after the emotional roller coaster she'd ridden for the last couple hours. He put his cheek to her head and let go of all the anger. Allen watched as if through a window, seeing what could have been and giving up. He and Marlene could be together in another world, but he would have to find a way to make it on his own.

escaflowne

Dusk had fallen and after a good meal and a story, Duke Chid had been put to bed. Dhhiya pulled the covers up over his shoulder and ran a hand over his wispy brown hair before leaving his chambers. She nodded to the guards and they closed the doors behind her. The first guard smiled at her. "I don't think the Duke's been happier, Sir. He really loves you."

"He's a special little boy." Dhhiya agreed. "He has a big heart, it seems like he wants the entire palace to be his family."

"We all adore the Duke." The second said. "It's a privilege to serve him."

His companion nodded in agreement, then seemed to remember something. "Oh, Miss Dhhiya, a message came for you while you were inside." He retrieved a roll of parchment and handed it o the young soldier. "The messenger said something about the Zaibachian troops arriving, and wanted you to come to the throne room as soon as you were able."

Dhhiya read the letter and frowned a little, her jovial spirit smothered. "Thank you. I should go now."

"Our pleasure, sir." The man said with a big smile.

The other saluted. "Goodnight sir!"

Dhhiya marched through the palace halls, returning to where she'd picked Chid up for dinner. His throne stood empty in the great hall alongside a burly blond man in a Zaibachian uniform. Safil was spouting stats and news to him a mile a minute, but stopped when she entered the room. "Oh, this is the Duke's personal attendant, Dhhiya."

The soldier cast his brown eyes over to her. "This is Areolar, a commander under Trapan himself."

Areolar addressed her directly. "Where is the Duke now?"

"I've put him to bed." She answered. "He's asleep." She felt uneasy under the weight of his eyes.

"Are you our only agent in the Duke's inner circle?"

"Safil said you were from Trapan…" She said, guarded and suspicious. "Where is he now?"

"He put me in charge." Areolar answered. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, I just…" she frowned deeper, "wasn't expecting him to send someone here. I thought we were secure."

Areolar was more than happy to flaunt his newfound power. "I'm dealing with things my way now. I thought that, since we've had a change of command, I should check on things around here. Make sure Fried is up to the challenge."

"Oh things are going well here!" Safil cried, beginning to stream information again. "Fried was completely recovered since the last war. We've increased our marked economy 130 and even begun rebuilding trade routes for foreign commerce –"

"Silence!" Areolar snapped. "Do you ever shut up?"

"He's correct when he says that Fried is fine." Dhhiya insisted, thinking about how happy it would make her if this new commander would leave. "So, there seems to be no reason for you to change anything."

"You see, that's where I think you're wrong." Areolar stated with a bit of a strut. He took a seat on Chid's throne as if he owned the place. "The Duke isn't a god is he?"

Dhhiya didn't like his interest in Chid at all. "No, he's not, but he doesn't know anything about the Faction in his court. He follows everything Safil says. Everything's going seamlessly."

"Its true." The advisor agreed. "The government proceeds flawlessly and more and more Draconians are working up the ranks. It's only a matter of –"

"Shut up!" Areolar cried. He looked at Dhhiya. "You and this windbag are the only two Draconians on the inside."

"Yes sir, but there are many in the army and working as guards." Dhhiya answered. "They are following the Master's orders without any suspicion at all."

"Well you know, that's just not good enough." Areolar announced, crossing his legs. "There need to be some real changes around here."

"Are you disregarding the Master's orders!" Safil cried.

"I'm the Master's right hand." Areolar said. "I'm in charge of doing his work in the field. I've got the authority to make or break any instructions he's given."

"I believe in the Master's dream." Dhhiya announced defiantly. "I know that we can easily gain a peaceful future through peaceful measures. I won't accept the whims of some new recruit if they disagree with that."

Areolar swung he body forward to lean sinisterly over his knees, his brown eyes shining out of a cast shadow across the bridge of his nose. "Do you want to know ho I got this position, soldier?" She drew back a little more, feeling his stare as if he were a ravenous dog. "Do you recall a man called 'The Machine'?"

"Yes." Dhhiya answered. "Trapan's second in command. Trapan spoke highly of his solid loyalty in his last message. He said that The Machine would flawlessly carry out the Master's work."

A sneer of unbelievable conceit stretched across his face. "I killed him." Dhhiya gasped and he sniggered. "And I've found that death is a very effective means of dealing with people. And its fast. It got me the biggest promotion of my career and granted me a spot in the chronicles of Gaea's history and it only took a couple of seconds. Trapan gave ME Virial's title and that means I am the one who will see the Master's plan fulfilled."

Dhhiya hung her head. "I understand."

"Good, now that THAT's settled, there's something else you need to understand." Areolar got up from the chair and paced before the two gods. "I can't tolerate a human on the throne."

"But Chid is just a boy." Dhhiya appealed. "He listens to everything we say! He might as well-"

"I don't care if he's two, ten or two-hundred, I'm not leaving Fried in the hands of a human." He looked to Safil. "Would you be the next in line to rule if the Duke were removed?"

"Yes sir." Safil nodded fervently, his eyes bugging more. "The Duke has no family or heirs to take his place."

"Good, so there aren't any obstacles either." Areolar stopped. "The Master's safe house is abandoned. No one goes there and the Master has no reason to return. You," he pointed sharply to Dhhiya who felt her throat tighten, "soldier, you are to murder the Duke and hide his body in the temple in the mountains."

Her face drained of blood, the gravity of her orders like ice water in her blood. "I- I what?"

To Areolar it was obvious and relatively simple. "Kill the Duke! He's just a kid, it shouldn't be too hard."

"You can't ask me –" she stammered, "you don't expect –"

"Get over it." He snapped at her. "Killing monarchs is a basic maneuver. And you don't have to stick a knife in him if you're too weak to do that. You can use whatever means you like – poison, smother him, push him in the moat, whatever – just make sure his carcass is hidden in that Safe house. And bring me back something for proof you've done it too, or I'll do the same to you and hide you in the mountains!"

"Sir, I beg you!" Dhhiya pleaded. "Don't make me do this! Don't give me this order! He's only a child!"

"If it's too difficult for you, I'll do it myself." Areolar spat. It sent her into a panic.

"No no! I'll do as you say!" She felt her stomach twist. "Don't stick your sword in him, please!"

"Fine." Areolar said, on the cups of contentment. "But make sure to bring me that proof. And do it immediately. I only plan to be here one day. I'm leaving after tomorrow night and I'd hate to leave my sword in the Duke as a farewell card." The Mutineer stormed out of the chamber and back toward his flagship.

Dhhiya fell to her knees in grief, her face in her hands. Safil turned to go. "I suppose I should prepare to take control of the country… I'm sorry it comes down to this, Dhhiya, truly…"

To be continued…


	21. Episode 21: Devotedness

Escaflowne: Mirrors 

Episode 21: Devotedness

The party on the Crusade reassembled on the bridge at the end of Yukari's shift. The Gaean sun was rising over the dry desert-like terrain to and painting the town of Godasim in pale colors. Amano stood by his girlfriend as they watched. "So that's it, huh?"

"Yes, that's it." Van answered.

"Its pretty like this." Yukari said. "It makes me feel a little homesick."

"It's not like it was." Gadess said. "The city was all but destroyed in the last war. Before you could nearly see a pattern in the streets at dawn, now it's lost a little bit of its magic."

"That's really romantic, Gadess." Yukari teased him, sounding weary. She put her head on Amano's arm. "It probably was magical."

Allen was still quiet. He hadn't spoken since meeting with Yukari earlier that night, and his silence seemed to dominate the room. In this lull it made everyone feel a little sadder and a little wearier. They waited a while as the city eased closer and closer, the palace gaining greater detail. Van noticed that much of the city was still under construction, especially on the southern side. Godasim itself was in varying degrees of disrepair, the reconstruction moving out from the palace in a ring. He remembered that he'd commanded for the opposite to take place in Fanelia and missed home. Gadess sat in the silence for as long as he could stand, he broke it with his good-humored tones and unfailing sense of duty. "So, Boss, we're here. What's the plan?"

Allen came out of his piteous state and quickly slid back into command mode, gathering his pooled knowledge of infiltration strategies to the front of his head. "We should land out of the way first."

"Out of the way where?" Yukari asked. "A lot of the trees have been burned down around the city, we'd have to park way out of the way."

"Then that is what we'll do." Allen resolved. He stepped forward to survey the landscape. "Take us around the outskirts southward and we'll set down on the other side of that ridge."

"Aye sir."

The Crusade moved along between the town and the southern branch of the Ventrag Mountains. It moved slowly to the spot the captain had indicated and touched down under the cover of the forested hill. From a top palace window, two maids watched with excited realization.

Escaflowne

It was time to wake the duke and serve him breakfast. Dhhiya moved miserably down the halls. She couldn't imagine how, but she had to kill her young master before the day was out. She turned the corner toward the royal chambers. There Safil waited. This grizzled man was Chid's chief royal advisor and now the heir to the throne. He was also the only other Factionary serving in the palace that wasn't a guard. Safil seemed torn, but not nearly as upset as she was. He leaned into her, whispering in her ear and pressing his fist into her stomach secretly. "I'm sorry you have to go through this my dear, but… take this." He dropped the contents of the fist into her hands and moved past as smoothly as if he'd only broadsided her on his way. She looked down and saw a vile corked at one end with a rubber stopper. She studied it a second then realized what it was and quickly hid it in her hands.

Poison. He'd given her poison.

Poison for Chid.

Moving down the hall again she felt a bubble of nausea move up from her stomach. The servers from the kitchen were waiting outside the bedchambers as always, as cheery and happy as any day of the week. The same two guards from the night before were back at their post and greeted her warmly. "Good morning, Miss Dhhiya! It's a nice day isn't it?"

"Yes, very nice." Dhhiya mumbled, her clenched fists behind her back.

One of the servers smiled sweetly. "Are you going to wake Duke Chid now? I do hope he slept well."

"Yes, I'm here to wake him." Dhhiya answered and moved into the room, shutting the gilded bronze doors behind her.

Chid was lying angelically in the folds of the white linens, looking very small in the massive pillows. Dhhiya reached out and touched his shoulder, his young breath moving it up and down. She was so sorry to wake him. This was to be his last morning. She closed her eyes and let her hand rest on him for a moment, then woke him.

"Lord Chid, its morning."

Chid yawned and rubbed her eye, then saw the face of the woman above him. "Dhhiya! Good Morning!"

She bit her lip and feigned a smile. "Good morning." Finding her lie incredibly hard to maintain, she turned her back to him and drew the curtains back. The guard was right; it was a nice day out.

"Wow!" Chid said, seeing the bright sunshine and blue sky beyond his window. He swung his feet out of bed. "Hey! Do you think Safil will let us eat lunch outside today! That would be so much fun! I had a dream about a picnic just now. Mother and Father were there, and you were there too. And we were on one of those hillsides you read about in books or tell stories about, you know, with the grass and the flowers and the butterflies and everything? And we were eating cake when Sir Allen came up and gave me a rabbit… okay, that part was kinda weird… but we all had cake together and it was like we were a real family! Mother and Father, Allen and Dhhiya, my big sister." He smiled at her. "Wouldn't it be great if you were my big sister? Then you wouldn't have to call me 'Lord Chid' and we could sit and talk all the time!"

Dhhiya felt her eyes begin to tear, a nasty sense of guilt and injustice making her feel green all over. She heard him hop up and skip across the room to change. She helped him into his formalwear and made for the door. "I should send in breakfast."

"Aren't you staying?" Chid sounded hurt.

Dhhiya bit harder on her lip. "Lord Chid…"

"Please stay and eat breakfast with me!" He begged. "I'll be lonely if you don't."

She didn't want to stay. She didn't want tot watch him die by her poison, but she didn't want him to die lonely and sad either. She loved her charge as if he actually was her little brother. Dhhiya opened the door and spoke to the aides. "Come in." Then, heavy hearted, stood aside and waited for the Duke to be served.

Chid watched the plates of breakfast float in with sunny eyes. "It all looks to good! Thank you!"

"What a gentleman!" The kitchen aides twittered.

"Sit down, Dhhiya, please!" Chid called. "There is plenty for you, too!" His personal assistant obeyed, trying hard not to seem too stiff and reserved. The Duke was just happy to see her join him and looked up to the two aids as they prepared to leave. "You can stay too."

"No no, Your Highness is too kind!"

"We have work to do, but please, enjoy your meal."

"I will! Thanks again!" Chid waved. He turned to Dhhiya. "Why don't kings treat their servants nicely? When I say 'thank you' it's like I'm the only one who's ever done it."

"Hmn," she answered, trying to open her mouth as little as possible, "yes Lord Chid."

He took a bite of cheesed toast. "Dhhiya, I liked having you for a sister in my dream. Can we pretend its real and you don't have to call me 'Lord' anymore, okay?"

Chid was making it worse and worse, if only through his sheer innocence. The Draconian turned her face away, searching for a distraction and finding the juice pitcher. "Would you like something to drink Lord-"

"Dhhiya!" He whined.

She swallowed hard. "-something to drink Chid?"

Chid smiled brightly. "Yes please Dhhiya!"

Dhhiya poured the red liquid into the basin with a shaking hand. The vile was pressed against her palm as she steadied the cup. She put the pitcher down and paused watching the juice swirl. She couldn't bring herself to do it, but if she didn't, Areolar would see it done, and there wouldn't be as much mercy on the end of her commander's sword. Dhhiya was sick. She hated to be the lesser of two evils, but what choice did she have? She had to kill him because she loved him. Stealthily she unstopped the vile and tipped the poison into the glass.

He took it ignorantly and looked inside. "Is it punch?"

Dhhiya pressed her lips and nodded quickly, her nerves tingling as she studied the glass. After he died she'd have to carry his body up to the mountains without being seen, then find the now abandoned Master's Safehouse and seal him inside. And she would have to take something back as proof. Every step of her impending journey made her feel more disgusting. The glass moved toward his lips.

It felt like her eyes were sweating. She stared inch-by-inch as he tilted the glass, the liquid death sliding further toward his mouth. The seconds of his life ticking away. A little further and it'd be over. A centimeter. A millimeter.

He'd be dead.

"NO!"

With a burst of divine justice, panic and fury Dhhiya leapt forward and smacked the glass out of his hand. It flew across the room spilling juice like a fountain through the air until it smacked upon a seat cushion and rolled off to the floor. Chid was dazed and confuses as he looked at her, the whites of her deep Mahogany eyes growing wider with adrenaline and her body braced across the table in front of him. "D-Dhhiya? What?"

She was panting hard, her mind just then catching up. She realized then the gravity of what she had done. " Please, stay here Lord Chid." She threw herself up to her feet and to the door. "Stay here and don't leave!"

"Dhhiya!"

"Trust me please, Chid!" She called, her hand on the door. "You're in danger! The drink was poisoned. I can't explain it all right now, but I'm going to save you, I promise! Just don't speak to anyone and don't leave here. I'll be back as soon as I can."

She slipped out the door and braced her back against it, her heart beating fast. She'd gotten past killing Chid, now it was going to take even more strength and courage to keep him alive. She'd have to find a way to get him out of the palace and away from Areolar, but how would she do it without anyone catching them? She'd completely forgotten about the two guards standing on either side of her.

"Miss Dhhiya? Is everything alright?"

She jumped and looked quickly to him. He was a Friedan soldier, loyal only to Chid and completely unaware of the Faction. A thought passed across her mind. Perhaps she didn't have to do this alone. "Tell me quickly, soldiers, if you had the choice to follow Chid and be in exile or stay here under a new ruler which would you choose?"

The second guard seemed distressed. "Did something happen to Chid?"

"Answer my question please." She said.

"Well," the first thought, "Chid has only been Duke for six months, but I've watched him grow up. I feel like he could be my nephew or something. I can't imagine serving anyone else."

"Yeah, I thought I'd be guarding Lord Chid for the rest of my career." The second agreed. "I guess I'd follow him anywhere."

The first nodded. "I'd go into exile with Lord Chid if it meant that I could keep him safe."

Dhhiya sighed. "Thank you both. I have a mission for you." She said. They leaned in. She paused to add weight to their assignment. "Don't let him leave this room."

"Is that the mission?" The second asked.

"I know it doesn't seem like much but it's very important." Dhhiya assured. "Make sure he stays inside, and let no one in, not even the royal advisor."

"What's going on?" The first asked, getting worried.

"Just do as I say alright." She pressed.

At that moment one of the kitchen aids came up with a plate of sugared fruit. "Hello everyone, I've brought Lord Chid some sweets to finish breakfast with."

The guards came to attention. "You cannot enter!"

"Wha-?" The middle-aged woman cocked her head. "I cannot enter? But I'm just bringing Lord Chid a treat."

Dhhiya sighed and was reminded who Chid's true family was. The staff that served him had adopted him in a way and was devoted to both his welfare and his happiness. She pulled the kitchen aid into the huddle. "Tell me the truth, if you had the choice of serving the Duke and leaving the country or staying here under another Master which would you choose?"

"I'd serve Chid." The aid reported. "He's such a good child. He reminds me of my nephews out in the country."

"We've told you we'd follow him anywhere." The guards reiterated. "Are you saying Chid's going to have to leave?"

Dhhiya nodded. "I need to get him out of here. He's in danger, but no one in the palace can know about what we're doing. You see…" she lowered her voice, "there's a mutiny starting here. I've got to get Chid safely into hiding before something terrible happens."

"We'll help you if we can." The others assured her. "Do you have a plan?"

Dhhiya furrowed her brow and bit a finger. She hadn't had time to prepare for this. A minute ago she was the mutiny they were now plotting to avoid. If only she'd had some foreknowledge, or a diversion, or a strategic mind.

At that moment a pair of maids dashed up the hall in an excited frenzy. They beelined for the kitchen aide, their eyes aglow. "Yahmi! Yahmi!" The woman turned and the maids caught sight of Dhhiya. They screeched to a halt and bowed quickly. "Oh my gosh! Excuse us Miss Dhhiya! We're sorry!"

Yahmi glanced back to the Draconian who nodded. The kitchen aid signaled for the girls to stop their bowing. "What is it, girls?"

In an instant they were back to their flittering. "Yahmi! Amin and I were upstairs cleaning when guess what we saw?"

Amin didn't give Yahmi time to guess. "We saw a ship land and it looked like Sir Allen's ship from before! You remember when Sir Allen visited? I'm nearly sure it was his ship!"

Dhhiya felt a sudden ray of hope descend on her. "Sir Allen?"

"Yeah!" Amin nodded quickly. "Sir Allen was so dreamy! Hulu and I have been watching for him all this time! Right Lu?"

Hulu clapped her hands and squealed inaudibly high

Dhhiya pressed for more information. "Where did it land?"

"North of here." Amin replied. "We could see it from the library window!"

"Until it dipped below the trees." Hulu agreed. "But it's probably still there! Boy I hope we're right and its Sir Allen's ship! I tried my best to ingrain the image on my brain the last time he was here so I'd be sure when he came back!"

Dhhiya shushed them and became serious once again. "Thank you girls, please don't tell anyone else."

"We came to tell Yahmi first." Hulu said.

"That's good." Dhhiya sighed. "Stay quiet about it for now. Don't tell anyone, not even your closest friends. We don't want the Zaibachians to find out about it."

"Oh okay." Amin agreed. "This must be important."

"It is, girls." Yahmi assured them. "No go back to your cleaning. Can't let anyone think anything's amiss."

"You're right, thank you Yahmi." The girls bowed to her and then to Dhhiya. "Excuse us miss." The maids dashed back up the hall.

"I've got to go." Dhhiya told her accomplices. "I'll return as soon as I can with a plan. Please do your best while I'm gone." With that she dashed down the hall and toward the exit.

escaflowne

Without a definite plan of attack, the group decided that step 1 of the Fried campaign would be to send out a reconnaissance team. Allen insisted he be part of it. Yukari did too, but she was exhausted from being up all night. Her sleep had been thwarted by an emotionally charged meeting with the knight, a similarly heavy reconciliation with her boyfriend and then her turn on the bridge. She sent Amano on the mission while she took a nap. The two doubles walked as casually as possible, observing what they could and trying to blend in. Allen had his hair pulled back and was dressed in shirtsleeves and his black leather pants. Amano had similarly left his blazer and tie behind and marched on in half a school uniform. He found himself a few paces behind his double as they skirted the edge of a ruined part of town. "Do you think its smart to just walk in?"

Allen was making hasty progress toward the palace, his eyes set like a man with a mission. "If we stay along the burned out parts there shouldn't be a problem."

Amano watched the charred husks of trees go by. This was once a green land surrounded by forests, but the battle for Fortuna Temple and the Power Spot had reduced the city and the woods to rubble. Most of the city had been rebuilt, but much of it was still under construction. The reassembled Palace stood tall over the shell of its country. He sighed and looked to Allen's waterfall-like golden hair. He'd been thinking a lot over night and learning a lot about himself and his relationships. With Yukari's help he felt as if he'd gotten over a great obstacle. Allen was no longer a threat, and Amano felt the need to level with him for a change. "Hey, Allen."

"What?"

"Well, It's kinda hard for me to admit this, but … when I charged in on you and Yukari last night, I gotta admit I was jealous."

"Hmph." Allen snuffed. Yukari had hurt him too last night, but it was no more than he had deserved. He blamed himself for the whole event.

Amano continued. "I didn't think you were really going to steal her from me. I just got defensive. You understand."

Allen made no reply. He had feelings for Yukari, but ghosts from the past and his connection to Amano were probably to blame for that.

Amano picked up the pace. "I just wanted to tell you, while we were away from everyone else. I know I've been really edgy around you since we got here, and I'm sorry, but I just want you to know that before we came here I really took a liking to you."

Allen turned over his shoulder. "What?"

"I mean w hen I as first connected to you at Yukari's house. I had one of those 'sense-of-divine-justice' impulses and decided I was going to help you with your problems no matter the cost. It's a lot like the bond Suru and Celena have, or Daiji and Dryden too… they liked each other instantly. I'm sorry to say I really failed you in that respect. I know it's too much to expect us to be buddy-buddy all of a sudden, but I would like to try and get right what I've done to our friendship. My overprotective tirade last night was nothing but my own pride getting in my way. So, I want to say I'm sorry, I guess, and that I hope we can be a little nicer to each other from now on. At least try not to exchange spiteful glances like we usually do."

"Amano – I –" Allen's pace slacked to hitch in time with his double's, "I don't know what to say."

"If you don't want to. I mean if you cant forgive me just like that, I'll understand." Amano said, pointedly. "I understand more than you think. That might have been another reason why I as afraid of you."

"You were afraid of me?"

"And jealous."

"Jealous of me?" Allen frowned. "Why in Gaea would you be jealous of ME?"

Amano turned a startled glance to him. "Look at you! You're a knight for one, you can fight like nobody's business and apparently women can't keep their hands off you! There's plenty to be jealous of."

Allen hung his head. "There's much more to be glad you don't have. Sometimes I spend hours sitting alone wondering what went wrong to bring me to what I am."

Amano was speechless. "Well, uh, maybe that's your problem? Sitting alone isn't going to help you work it out."

"Who do I have to talk to?" Allen grumbled. "Gadess has heard my pity before. I've talked to him, but he's my first mate and bearing my soul can only go so far."

"Well, you've got twice the people now to pick from." Amano noted. "You've got me and Yukari. If you talk to Yukari I wont get mad. I already know you won't steal her."

Allen paused. He felt overwhelmingly guilty all of a sudden. "I did try to steal her…" Amano narrowed his eyes, "last night when I thought that the two of you were ending. I asked her if she would consider me… because she is Marlene, and I love Marlene." He turned his eyes on his 17-year-old counterpart. "But she said 'no'." The knight studied him a little more intently. "She said she loved you." He broke eye contact and hung his head. "Which makes me sad, but now that I consider it, I think I prefer it that way. Seeing that Yukari is so devoted to you, it makes me hope that Marlene would have been so devoted to me if things had worked out differently."

Amano smiled a little. "You aren't such a bad guy, you know." The broke out of the tree line and faced a devastated patch of scorched earth. The dead plane stretched open for fifty yards between them and the palace grounds. Amano stuck his hands in his pockets. "So much for cover. What do we do now? Sprint for it?"

"We'll be more obvious then." Allen resolved. "The landscape's changed from the map I remember."

Amano noticed something moving on the horizon, a figure running. He jabbed his double. "What's that?"

"It looks like a soldier!" The two of them threw their hands to the hilts of their swords in natural, synchronized movements. The person approached as Allen ran though primary attacks and plotted defensive maneuvers in his head. Amano took the same time to study the shape as it grew nearer.

"Wait, is that a woman?"

Dhhiya completed the dash and fell to her knees, out of breath on the ground. She looked up to the two of them, wind-stung tears in her eyes. "Do you men know where I can find Sir Allen Schezar?"

Allen let his guard down as he noticed Dhhiya's glittery mahogany eyes. "I am Allen Schezar." Amano shot him a glance. Dhhiya was beyond relief and bowed her nose to the ground.

"Sir Allen! Please! I beg you! I need your help desperately!" She looked up at them, panting. "The Duke is in danger and I fear only you can help save him!"

escaflowne

Torsion lay in a darkened room at the back of a model Deidlan house. The stiff woven curtains were pulled shut above her bed and allowed little more than dashes of light over her face. She slept in the same exhaustion that had taken her in the woods. Just outside her shut door, her traveling companions sat at a table while the lady of the house fixed a bowl of small eggs for breakfast.

"Thank you again, Mother, for accommodating us." Prestress said from his chair.

His mother, a full-blooded impala woman, turned her elongated face and golden eyes over to Prestress and Vector. "I'm happy to do it! I never get to see you."

"We won't be a bother." Vector assured, looking very large in the quaint little room. Although he did not show it outwardly, he found his brooding, philosophical friend's homely mother very amusing. "As soon as Torsion is better we will need to hurry on our way."

Prestress nodded. "Trapan is already ahead of us. We will have to make haste to reach Asgard before him."

"Well, you're welcome as long as it takes." She laughed, youthfully tossing her curly blonde hair. "I know I don't have much but whatever I have is open to you!"

"You are too kind." Vector nodded a bow to her.

Just then a knock came at the rickety kitchen door. Without invitation, a man entered. He had dark hair, green eyes, a mustache and a big smile. "Caesium?"

Prestress's mother wiped her hands and turned cheerily to him. She was surprised by her son, who leapt up on reflex to stand protectively between them. The stranger started and backed away, his hand still holding the door. Vector noticed a spark lit in Prestress's gold eyes that were more fiery than usual. Caesium didn't like the confrontational air at all and shoved past Prestress to stand in between them.

"Prestress! Calm down." She looked to the man at the door. "Gaye, this is my son, you remember me telling you about him?" Gaye sighed and nodded, his smile back. Prestress gained a little more ferocity in his stare. Caesium put a hand on his arm. "Prestress, this is Gayeanye. He's my fiancé."

Prestress went from livid with fury to stunned speechless. "Fiancé!"

His mother smiled broadly and nodded quickly. "I'm getting married! Isn't that terrific?"

"Congratulations." Vector said obligingly.

Prestress narrowed his eyes, looked more worried than happy. "When did this happen?"

"You've been gone for five years, Prestress." Caesium said, "Gaye and I have been seeing each other for almost eighteen months!" He grabbed onto her fiancé's arm. "He proposed to me three weeks ago! It was on a Monday night and the moons were rising over the trees. The sky was pink and the clouds looked like spun sugar hanging in the sky. We were on his ship looking down at Skortsky from above! It was so romantic!"

Gayeanye laughed at her. "You memorized the whole night didn't you?"

She squeezed his arm. Prestress thought he heard her squeal like a child. "It was the single happiest night I've had in twenty years!"

With a grin he kissed her on the forehead. She bent it forward to give him a better reach. Prestress was still suspicious. "Ship?"

"I'm a trader." Gayeanye replied. "My partner and I run shipments across the Ventrags."

Prestress leveled his eyes on Caesium. "Mother, may I speak to you?"

The woman gave Gayeanye an apologetic look then followed her son into another room. Prestress was taller than she was, and held her thin shoulders in his hands as he spoke. "Mother? What are you doing?"

"Nothing." She replied, clueless as to why her son was being so uptight. "Nothing wrong."

"He's a human." Prestress told her, his tone heavy with disapproval.

"So?" She asked. "There are plenty of mixed-race couples nowadays. More and more all the time. Gaye's best friend is marries to a beast woman! If he loves me, I don't see a problem with us getting married."

"You couldn't have found someone from your own tribe?"

Caesium frowned at him. "The tribe is still in Zaibach and you know I can't go back! Prestress! I can't believe I'm hearing you say these things.

"But Mother…" Prestress persisted. "You have been hurt by non-beast people before…"

She realized what was driving him. She threw her hands up to his face, the features there greatly affected by his father's blood. He had a shortened nose, a squarer jaw, and only a little of the fine golden fur found in her race. "Prestress, son, its true that what happened to me changed my life a lot. And I admit, I might have regretted it and wished it had never happened when I was alone and rejected by my friends and family, but I never regretted you." She locked eyes with him and recognizing something he could only have gotten from her. "I love you."

"I was never meant to be." He replied, bowing his head. "I am a living crime."

"You're my son." She said firmly. "And no matter how you came about I wouldn't change that. My love for you doesn't change either, no matter how hard you might try. You were my only joy here in Deidlas, living in exile. You gave me the strength to make a life for myself! I'm so proud of the man you've become."

She was the only one in Gaea who could move him to tears, and the gold flecks of his eyes glistened as she held his face. "I love you as well, Mother. More than myself. I've seen what you've gone through because of me. I don't want to see you get hurt again."

She smiled at him. "Don't worry about me, Prestress. I've found someone true who makes me happy."

"Are you certain?" He pressed. "Positively?"

She nodded. "I had you when I was 16 years old. That took a lot of my youth away, but Gaye, he makes me feel young again! When he and I ware together it's like all that pain and rejection you are so determined to protect me from never happened at all! So you see… I love him and I'm going to marry him."

Prestress pressed his lips in a little pit of a smile. She gave him a kiss on the cheek before heading back into the kitchen. Her path took her straight to Gayeanye's embrace. He looked down at her. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, all fine." She said. "I felt like hugging you."

"How sweet." He teased. "And your son isn't going to disown you?" Prestress came into the room, having brought himself back under control. Vector gave him a glance. Letting Caesium go, Gayeanye presented his hand. "I'm glad there're no hard feelings! I hope the two of use can be friends!"

Prestress looked again to Vector before taking the extended hand. "I do not promise friendship, but as long as you give me no reason to dislike you, you shall have no reason to dislike me."

Gayeanye was an optimistic soul and completely ignored the undertones in the beast man's well-balanced sentence. He gave the hand a good hard shake. "Great! I'm glad we're alright. And I'm glad to finally meet you! I've heard a lot."

Prestress narrowed his eyes a little as Gayeanye turned to his bride-to-be. "Well, Cae, I guess we'll put off our plans. You look like you're busy."

"Plans?" Vector asked.

Caesium smiled. "Oh, nothing too special, don't worry."

"We were going to spent some time together before I left." Gayeanye explained. "I'll be gone in a couple days shipping to Asturia, but that's okay, we'll do something tomorrow, okay?"

Caesium nodded. "Okay." She gave him a kiss and opened the door. "Come back for dinner, alright?"

"You got it." He replied. "Love you!"

"Love you!" With a wave she bid farewell and returned to her half-cooked breakfast. "Oh, I'm sorry about that you two! I'll have this done in a moment!"

Escaflowne

The rest of the crew was very surprised when Allen and Amano returned with a stranger. Yukari, Van and Gadess pressed in tightly around Dhhiya, each forming their own conclusions about her origins and intentions. Amano stepped forward to clarify. "Guys, this is Dhhiya, she needs our help."

"Our help?" Van was a little outraged.

Yukari seemed more accepting. "Help with what?"

"I don't mean to impose." Dhhiya said. "You all have traveled with Sir Allen, so you must be noble, compassionate people…"

"No need to butter us up, Miss." Gadess interrupted, musing. "Just tell us your problem."

"The Duke is in danger." She replied. "He loves Sir Allen very much. I hoped that your party could help save his life."

"If the Duke is in any danger, I won't rest until we've freed him from it." Allen announced importantly.

Dhhiya turned her sparkling mahogany eyes up to him. "Truly? That's fantastic!" She flushed red and turned quickly away. "I mean, Thank You." She snapped back to business. "We need to work fast. The Palace is full of mutinous Zaibachian soldiers. They want Chid killed, and expect it done by sundown today. I have to find a way to get him out of there and hidden without suspicion. I know what has to be done, but I'm ashamed to say I can't think of a plan. I feel very lost."

"Plans are something we can pull off about 75 of the time." Amano said, shaking his head. "We'll do our best though."

The others nodded and Dhhiya took a deep breath. She explained to them the layout of the palace, the locations of the guards, the state of her interior contacts and possible routes. She tried to be as brief as possible, speaking mostly to Allen, and summing it all up with a fit of flustered begging that painted her in desperation. Allen assured her that everything would be all right.

When she was finished Van put a hand to his chin. "Well, at least it'll be easier than Zaibach. We have someone on the inside this time."

"Can you trust the staff?" Yukari asked. "You're certain they'll drop everything and follow Chid?"

"I'm sure." Dhhiya replied.

"Have you thought of where you're going to hide yet?" Amano asked.

Dhhiya nodded. "There's only one place I can think of… Fortuna Temple in the mountains."

Allen nodded. "We've been there before."

"We'll have to be in disguise again." Yukari announced. "Do we still have all those Zaibachian uniforms?"

Gadess shook his head. "No, that was the other ship."

"Oh right."

Amano kept thinking. "What about a diversion?"

"I don't think so." Van said. "Dhhiya's Chid's royal attendant. If she's with him the two of them should be able to walk out of the palace without a problem."

Yukari snapped her fingers. "Good point, Van! Great thinking!"

Amano smiled. "We don't even need a plan at all! This is going to be a cinch!"

Allen had his eye on Dhhiya, who had become glum and almost guilty. He touched her shoulder. "Dhhiya, what's wrong? Is there something deeper you're not telling us?"

Dhhiya hung her head, ashamed. "Well… I…" They all could hear the change in her voice and began to second-guess her. She hated the feel of their eyes on her. "I was supposed to –" She looked briefly to Allen's blue eyes and flinched. She didn't want to tell him she'd nearly killed someone they both loved. "I'm a member of the mutiny."

"You're what?" Van cried. He stepped up to crowd her and she moved back. He was no taller than she, but his brown eyes were intimidating, making her feeling helpless and small.

"That's how I found out about the plot… the Faction wants-"

"Faction?" Allen's voice was piercing. "You mean THE Faction? The Draconian Faction?"

She jumped and drew back. "How do you know about it?"

"We've been fighting it for weeks now." Yukari told her. "If the Faction's here its worse than we thought."

"Should we even tolerate a Factionary on board our ship?" Van asked, his eyes shooting to Allen. "She could be a spy."

"I seriously doubt that." Amano said. "Cool down, Van."

"Dhhiya," Allen tried to sound more comforting but his thoughts strongly on his son, "start again, this time be honest. We need to know everything."

She let go, the fear and guilt escaping as trembling sobs as she spoke. "The Faction has been in control of Fried for a long time. This was where everything started. The Master took advantage of Chid's youth and inexperience and installed me and another Draconian as chief officials in the Duke's court. We've been helping to manipulate his decisions ever since, but it was peaceful! I promise you, we didn't do anything to hurt him! But when Areolar and the Zaibachian Detachment arrived he demanded that I kill Chid and told me I had to do it and move his body to the Temple by sundown tonight or he'd do it himself!" She clasped her hands over her mouth. The other's eyes widened.

Yukari pressed in. "You were going to kill him?"

Dhhiya nodded and spoke from behind her hands, her words running together in a stream of adrenaline. "I didn't want to do it. I begged him not to make me but he insisted because I was the closest one to him. I even tried but I couldn't go through with it. Chid's so sweet and he called me his sister and then - I'm the only one with any loyalty to the Duke now. I'm his last chance before that awful man drives a sword through him! You have to help me get him out! I couldn't live with myself if Chid died and it was my fault! Please?"

Allen took her shoulders again and her eyes relaxed. "It's okay, Dhhiya, we know you don't want to hurt Chid. You're doing what your conscience tells you is right, and don't worry. We'll get the Duke out without the Master ever knowing we were there."

Van's steam had run out and tried to approach the maneuver again from a logical angle. "Is the Master here now?"

"No, the Master left for Asgard three days ago." Dhhiya said, wiping her eyes. "He left his Safehouse in the Mountains, moving by airship to the North. He wants to open the City of Atlantis."

"Where's the Safehouse?" Allen asked.

She was surprised they didn't know. "Fortuna Temple."

Amano shrugged. "That figures."

Allen frowned. "That means he has the Power Spot, too."

Van added to his thought. "Using the ruins of Atlantis to resurrect the world of the Draconians." He growled. "I'll never forgive him for using my blood like this."

Dhhiya shrank down again. Allen changed the subject. "The way I see it, the only way to stay undetected is to feign Chid's death and move him to Fortuna Temple as the Zaibachian general directed."

"So we close Chid and his renegade staff up in the Temple." Yukari summed up. "And they'll be safe there?"

"I hope so." Dhhiya said. "I'll stay with him. Perhaps I can keep the Faction away."

"Won't they miss you?" Van asked, skeptically.

Dhhiya's brow knitted. "I- I'll think of something. I can't stay with the Faction. I don't want to live in a world where we kill of innocent, loving children because they don't have wings."

"I'll take that as a resignation." Amano said, good humored. "Lets get down to business!"

"First we need to 'kill' Chid." Yukari said. "Then get him out of the palace."

"We should let the Draconian guards know what we're doing." Allen said. "If we can drop the right hints, news will get to the general."

"There's a door around the back being guarded by Draconians." Dhhiya offered. "Its near where Areolar's ship is docked. They aren't supposed to let normal humans in."

Amano looked to the King. "I guess that means you, Van."

"They've seen me before." Van answered. "Anyone in the palace who encountered us six months ago will recognize my face. We weren't trying to keep a low profile back then."

"Wait Wait Wait!" Yukari cried. "I've got inspiration! Van! Would you say you're about Dilandau's size?"

"I guess," he answered, "but if you think I'm sharing with that monster you must be crazy."

"Oh come, on," Yukari bated, "its not like he's got leprosy or something. Dilandau's wearing a Zaibachian uniform right now. We can put you in it and do something with your hair and voila! Instant Winged Guard."

"That's a good plan." Allen said. "When you and Dhhiya bring Chid out bring him to the Crusade and we'll move him to the mountains."

Yukari nodded. "Okay then, lets go negotiate Dilandau out of his uniform."

Escaflowne

Daiji meandered back up to the bridge where Dryden was playing figurehead. The merchant was very very bored, but brightened when he saw his double approach.

Daiji put his hands in his pockets. "Couldn't find your room. I thought my connection would give me a clue… but no dice."

"You probably mistook it for every other room." Dryden replied. "It's cluttered beyond all reason and stacked with books. The actual bed part is a separate room."

"Hmn," Daiji thought a minute, "now that you put it that way, I may have found it after all."

"Why were you looking anyway?" Dryden asked.

"Just curious." Daiji replied. "Wanted to see how my other self lived… drink in a bit of the culture. You understand."

He did indeed. "As far as my life goes it's pretty much as you see it. I live day to day with my head in a book, running the trade routes, writing…"

"Oh yeah, your book." Daiji recalled. "How's that going?"

"It just is at this point." Dryden said. I see it kind of as banter across time with Atlantian researchers of the past. I offer my own ideas on some of the more controversial subjects and document what I've learned about the ancients recently by hanging out with Hitomi and Van. Stuff like that."

Daiji was clueless. "Give me an example."

Dryden shook his head, laughing at himself. "If you get me started I can talk forever, but in short I guess my basic discrepancy is the whole fate thing. The Draconians believe in an unset fate. Sure fate may be a guiding force in people's lives, but it can be bent into whatever shape you want it if you wish on their technology. To me it seems a lot more logical if fate were more like what you'd probably consider destiny. It's an inevitable goal we're all heading for. Draconian technology can change the direction of the paths we take and put detours in fate's road, but in the end destiny has the potential to sort itself out. Sometimes it take a little creativity on its own part, but we'll all reach our ultimate goal in the end." Dryden noticed Daiji studying him closely and tried to shrug it off. "That's my take on the subject anyway."

"You've thought a lot about this."

He seemed to loose some of his cheer. "There's little to do but think out here. When I got tired of measuring myself up to Millerna's standards I'd distract myself with writing. I don't know if it'll ever get published. I don't care so much now."

"You don't care?" Daiji cried. "I can't believe that."

"What's the point? All my peers are long dead." Dryden said. "At the very most the book would have been a chance for Millerna to run across my name again and remember I was coming back for her." He let out a deep sigh, reminding Daiji of the illness living in his double's head.

Seguir and Yosu wandered up, seeming to have run out of things to do. Yosu sounded very much like Van. "Yow long?"

"Another twelve hours sir," Llave answered brightly. "We'll arrive at Fa Xian by noon tomorrow."

"I didn't realize how late it was." Daiji said, staring out the window. "Do you think Allen and everyone are in Fried yet?"

He was asking Dryden but Seguir answered. "They've probably been there since this morning."

"Do you think they'll come back with Chid." Yosu asked.

Daiji scoffed. "Why no? We've got enough people hanging around already."

Yosu changed the subject. "Where is everyone anyway?"

"They're somewhere playing a game." Daiji answered. "'Ai invited me but I couldn't remember where it was, and I got the feeling it was meant to be 'girl time' and I'd just ruin the mood."

"Girl time, huh?" Yosu asked with a disapproving droop.

"What's wrong?" Daiji asked. "Hoping to get in some quality time with Hitomi before her beau gets back?"

Yosu turned his brown eyes out the window. "Never mind."

The card game had petered out and now the real girl time was starting. Hitomi watched her hands rest on the table. "I hope Van is alright."

"I'm sure he is." Millerna said.

"Of course he is!" Merle cried. "He's Lord Van! He's Unstoppable!"

Koneko took a more obvious angle. "Plus my brother hasn't croaked yet."

"Do you think their mission is dangerous?" Jiai asked.

"It's going to be as dangerous as they choose to make it." Millerna resolved.

"Pshaw…" Koneko spat, "then consider it hazardous as long as Allen's calling the shots. He looked out for blood."

"Its hazardous if only because the Dilandaus are along." Merle agreed.

Suru piped up in defense. "They aren't really that bad." She drug Leptilepitos off the table and into her lap. "They just try to have fun."

"I hope Amano and Yukari come back alright." Jiai said. "I'm more afraid for them. They don't know what's going on."

"At least they're together." Hitomi sighed.

Jiai rubbed her arm. "I'm sorry, Hitomi, I shouldn't have said anything. It must be awful to be separated again."

Hitomi nodded a little bit but tried to perk up. "He promised he'd take care of himself. He won't do anything too dangerous. He's coming back to me!"

Escaflowne

"I'm embarrassed and demasculated." Dilandau growled. He'd been forced to change into another pair of Celena's shorts and one of Allen's extra shirts. The white top was a little big for him but at least it didn't have puffy sleeves.

Allen glared at him. "You're one to talk about 'demasculation'."

Dilandau sneered at him, making a fist. "Jut what do you mean by that?"

Amano sidestepped the issue and knocked on the door to Celena's room behind him. "Hey, Van? You done in there?"

"One second!" He came out of the room in the dark blue-violet uniform. He was far from pleased. "Satisfied?"

"That's perfect!" Yukari cried in triumph. "I knew you were the same size!" Van rolled his eyes. The girl stepped up. "Now I do something fancy with your hair."

"Fancy?"

"Oh, I've got bobby pins don't worry." She poked him in the ribs and he jumped. "Don't get too scared, I just want to keep it from going all over the place."

"Fine." Van consented. He looked to Dhhiya. "Outline this for me again?"

"We'll go in the south entrance. You'll have to present your wings as an ID, then we'll head for the Duke's chambers. I told the guards to keep everyone out of the room until I got back so it should be safe inside. We'll get Chid back out through the same door and hide him in the Temple."

"It'll be that easy?" Allen asked.

Dhhiya nodded. "If we don't have any problems."

Amano grinned. "Its about time we had an easy quest."

Allen shook his head. "There's no such thing as an easy quest."

"I'll have to stay behind." Dhhiya reported. "I was told to bring proof to Areolar."

"How are you going to do that without a body?" Allen asked.

"He's a king right." Hakai recalled, his hands crossed behind his head. "Steal his hat."

"That's not a bad idea." Dhhiya nodded to him. "Thanks."

It was midday and the two Draconians found themselves inside the palace grounds. The Crusade had inched its way closer to the palace, trying its best to stay hidden among the burned forest. Dhhiya turned to Van just as the doorway was in sight, two Zaibachian Winged Guards at attention. "Okay, I guess you would have been assigned to me, so I should lead. Release your wings when I do. After that we shouldn't have any trouble." He nodded and followed a few steps behind her. She approached the guards and nodded a bow. Van noticed that her acting abilities left something to be desired. "Goodday!"

"Good day." The guards answered.

"This is…" she paused. She'd begun introductions on reflex, realizing now that Van didn't have an alias "…the guard who was assigned to help me with that thing…"

"Thing miss?" One guard asked.

She whispered. "You know, that job. The one job."

"Oh right." He said. "But you're still going to have to give the password."

Dhhiya relaxed her shoulders, her heart racing in her chest. A pair of strikingly white wings rose from her tanned skin. Van was held captive in the same sort of awe he'd felt when Seguir released his wings. It dawned on him how few Draconians he'd actually met. He snapped out of it quickly and let his wings out through the slits in the back of the uniform. The two of them revealed their feathers just long enough to confirm their identities then hid them away again in their hearts. The guards nodded and let them inside.

The new palace had been built to ward of the dusty air blowing in from the desert to the south. When the trees were alive, the dry lands were kept at bay, but without their protection the encroaching desert seemed to seep into the cracks. The halls were wooden with heavy curtains or shutters dressing the windows. There was a perimeter hallway the surrounded the building. Arching interior corridors led the way to the actual chambers; the Throne room, the dining courts, and the Duke's quarters among others. Dhhiya led the king into the interior until they found the door where the two loyal guards were standing valiantly, their knuckles white on their spears. They seemed greatly relieved when they saw her approach. Van got the impression they were exhaling for the first time since she'd left.

"Sir! We've done as you said!"

"No one's gone in! Not a soul!"

"Good." Dhhiya nodded. "This is Van, he's going to help us." They took her word for it, stepped aside and let them into the room. Chid had resigned himself to a ball on the bed, his knees hugged tight to his chest. A portrait of anxious fear, he stared fixedly at the door. Sight of his assistant sprung him back to life. "What happened? Where did you go?"

"It's going to be all right now, Chid." Dhhiya assured him in a rushed but comforting tone. "I've brought someone to help you out of here."

"Who is it?" Chid asked, wary.

"Van Slanzar de Fanel." Van answered, stepping forward. "We've met before."

Chid paused a minute, trying to remember. "Fanelia! King of Fanelia! You came with Allen!" His blue eyes seemed to gain maturity. "But what are you doing here now?"

"Allen's here too." Van answered. "We're rescuing you."

"Sir Allen is here!" Chid became seven again and dashed over. Dhhiya couldn't help but smile at his delight.

She kneeled down to his level. "We're going to make it look like you're dead then hide in the mountains where you'll be safe."

Even with this news the situation didn't seem so bad anymore. "You're coming with me Dhhiya? And Sir Allen too?"

"Yes." She nodded. "I'll keep you safe, Chid, I promise."

"Okay, so what do I do now?"

Van looked to Dhhiya. "How were you supposed to have killed him?"

"Poison." She answered. "But… I kinda threw the cup across the room."

"Its okay." Chid answered. He dashed over and picked it up off the carpet. "It hit a cushion and didn't break."

"Thank you," Dhhiya took it from him, then leaned down by the table. "And look! Here's the vile Safil gave me."

"Great, we've got proof. Now how do we get him out?" Van asked.

Dhhiya tapped the glass together as she thought. "It'd be too obvious for you to carry him out like a body…"

"We have to let the Zaibachian troops know it's done." Van recalled. "What about a sack or something?"

Dhhiya's eyes caught the light of inspiration. "The bed sheets!" The two of them moved to the bed in the corner and stripped it, laying the cover out on the ground. The Freiden took Chid's hand. "Okay, Lord Chid, if you would please sit in the middle of this and we'll tie you up like a bag."

"Okay." Chid said, trusting them fully. "If you say so." He sat indian style in the center and his rescuers tied him off.

Dhhiya stepped back. "How's that look?"

"It's a sack." Van announced. "An expensive sack, but hopefully no ones looking that closely." He ran through the steps in his head. "Wait, we forgot something." He unwrapped the Chid bundle and stole the hat off his head. "Pardon me, Duke." He tossed the cap to Dhhiya who almost lost her other evidence to catch it. "I hate to use the ideas of a banshee, but short of a bloody shirt or his own head, that's as good as you'll get."

Chid's muffled voice wailed through the package. "What?"

Dhhiya patted what she guessed was the top of his head. "Don't worry about it. Just try to act dead."

Van gathered him up in his arms and got ready to go. Dhhiya stopped him. "Wait, I want to say something quick."

Van shifted weight. "Quick."

Dhhiya pulled open the bag to look in at her charge. "I'm sorry for all I've put you through, Lord Chid, but I know you'll be safe with Sir Allen. I've got to take care of some things but I'll come back to you as soon as I can. Just be brave okay?"

"I will." Chid said with a confident nod.

She knotted him off securely and held the door. "Take care."

The guards watched him trundle out with the bag. Dhhiya gave them final instruction before dashing off to the throne room. "Guards, please escort Van and the Duke to the back door… then come here to resume your posts."

"Yes sir!"

The three of them moved off down the halls. Chid tried his best to be very still, listening to the sound of Van's footfalls. They moved quickly through the palace until they reached the back door. The guards looked at the two Frieden escorts suspiciously and spoke to Van. "What is your business."

"I have… a bag of donations. The Duke wanted me to take them down to the orphans." He groaned on the inside at his lame excuse, but he figured if he were transparent enough the guards would get the hint. They did indeed and let him through. They braced the door on his personal guard though.

"He can go to the orphans by himself."

"Yes sirs. We'll just be going back to our post then…"

"Do that."

Putting the Zaibachian guards behind him, Van walked the path toward the Crusade, the Duke getting heavier with every step.

Dhhiya made a beeline for the throne room. Areolar and Safil had been there all day discussing the transfer of power. She had her evidence rapped in a blanked under her arm and took a moment to shift weight and rehearse her scene. She'd been inconsolable the night before, she had to match that performance today or look suspicious.

First step was to look the part. She entered the chamber with her head bowed and her feet dragging. Areolar looked up and spotted her. "Is it done?"

"It's done." She said, dramatically.

Safil took her at face value and nodded contentedly. Areolar took a step forward. "Where's that proof I wanted?"

"I have it." She said, she fell to her knees before him, denying him eye contact and extending the package upward like an offering. "It's all there. Ask no more of me!"

The Zaibachian stomped down and snatched the blanket from her. Safil craned his neck to look over his shoulder and smiled. "Ah! I see you used the poison!"

"How can you tell?" Areolar asked, disapproving of the bony old man's proximity.

Safil pointed with an overexcited twitch. "That vile, sir! I gave her tat full of poison!" He was so proud of himself that he proceeded to explain the rest of the package. "And that is a glass from the royal pattern! And this is the Duke's crown!"

Dhhiya peered through her fingers as she pretended to cower on the floor. Areolar was buying it. She bowed her head deeper to hide her relief. Her commander 'hmph'ed and bound the parcel back up. "At least someone around here can follow an order."

Safil cleared his throat. "Sir… If I may…"

"Didn't I tell you to shut up!" He stormed back to sit comfortably on the throne. "Now we've got some real work to do." He turned to Dhhiya. "Get off the floor and get over here. That's no position for a god."

It was time to engage step 2: uncontrollable sobbing. "No sir! No!"

"Get over here!" He growled.

She scrambled off her knees, imagining she'd gotten stabbed in the stomach and stumbling back and forth.

Areolar narrowed his eyes. "What's wrong with you? Suck it up. I need you to think of a way to frame the Duke's murder on something else." Dhhiya's knees sank together. "Start some gossip or something. The more people who hear the lie the more likely they are to believe it. That'll be your job now that you don't have a kid to assist."

Dhhiya, behind her farce, was truly appalled by how flippant he was. He's just killed a child! She pulled her performance from that. "No! I wont do any more! I killed him, isn't that enough?"

"Soldier!" Areolar shouted. "Get yourself under control!"

She sobbed loudly. "No more! What have I done?" With gusto she dashed from the room bawling with all her strength.

Areolar frowned after her. "Irritating woman."

Dhhiya dropped the tears and ran madly through the halls. She stopped outside the Duke's room where the guards were still standing at attention. They seemed relieved and excited when they saw her coming. "Miss Dhhiya! We've been waiting here all day! We turned the change of shift away hoping you'd show up! Everything went fine, that helper of yours is gone!"

"Shh!" She hushed. "You've done great, both of you." She scrounged for a step 3 to her plan. "I've got to find a way to get out of here. And I can't be followed, so it has to be a good cover-up."

"We want to come too." The guards said. "And the aids and maids will too! We don't want to serve and evil duke."

She received a blast of inspiration. "okay, I think I've got a plan. Tell me if you think this is going to work, okay? I'll fake my own suicide. I was more than distraught in there, they'd buy it. I'll write up a suicide note, and then have you two find it. That way I can leave and no one will look for me."

"Wow." The two of them were shocked. One leaned on his spear and shook his head. "That's drastic, Sir. Why can't you just resign?"

She let her eyes drift. "It's a little more complicated than that. But you and everyone you mentioned can resign when I'm gone. Say you're afraid because of all the deaths and leave the palace. That won't look suspicious. I hope. Come to my chambers at nightfall. I wont be there, but my note will. Bring Areolar and act scared. Then you can resign tomorrow morning and meet us up at Fortuna Temple."

They nodded a little warily. "Whatever you say, Miss Dhhiya."

"Good. I'm counting on you." She turned to leave, but remembered something else. "Make sure not to tell a soul that Chid and I are alive. It sounds like Areolar wants to spread rumors about murder. See if you can help the rumors along if you can. I'll see you soon. Good luck!" They watched her race again down the hall.

Chid was let gratefully out of the bag when they made it on board the Crusade. Yukari was overjoyed to see him. "He's so cute!" She tugged Amano's sleeve. "Lookit! So cute!"

Allen knelt down. "Duke Chid, are you alright?"

Chid's eyes were sparkling. "Sir Allen!"

It warmed his heart. Chid was sincerely happy to see him. "I'm glad you're alright."

Yukari nearly shoved Allen aside on her way down to her knees. "Chid! You don't know me, but I have to hug you!" She clamped her arms around the boy and squeezed tight. He was surprised but somehow delighted. Amano squatted and smiled at them.

Allen turned away from the little family group. "Van, how is Dhhiya?"

"She's fine." Van answered, re-ruffling his wild black hair. "She's taking care of the rest of the deal now. We're supposed to go on up to the Temple."

"Then off we go." Gadess grinned.

"Yes, get us in the air." Allen agreed. "I want to be hidden in the mountains before night."

Chid looked up, all smiles. "Are all of you staying with me?"

Yukari grinned down at him. "Yep! We came all the way here looking for you! We're not going to leave until you're safe and sound."

"Wow!" Chid cried. "I've never had so many friends!"

"No many enemies." Van said, seriously. Allen turned to him and he elaborated. "It seems like the country is there's. The place seethes with Factionaries and the humans there haven't a clue. I'm afraid we should probably consider Fried a lost cause. Even with people on the inside, the five of us alone can't reclaim it. We'd need an army."

"Let the Faction have Fried then." Allen said. "If Chid is safe then nothing else matters."

Van studied his friend closely. Allen sensed his probing eye, but shared no information. It wasn't fair to Chid if everyone knew his parentage but him. Instead, the knight changed the subject. "Perhaps we will find clues to the Master in the temple, considering he used it as a Safehouse."

"We should head up to our stations." Amano resolved. He looked down to Chid. "Have you ever ridden on the bridge of an airship before?"

"No! Not on the bridge!" Chid said, excited. "Do I get to?"

"You bet! Come on, let's go!"

Amano and Yukari took his hands and led him to the stairs. Allen loved and hated the way they'd become so close so quickly. He couldn't help but think that Marlene, Chid and himself would have made a happy family.

Dhhiya watched the dusk for signs of the Crusade, but Gadess had plotted a well-hidden path out of the city. She just had to rely on hope. Her left hand throbbed beneath a bloody bandage. He back ached too. She sat near the window on a carpet of bloody feathers.

In the past hour she'd penned a brilliant suicide note and become so absorbed in the fictional agony of her heart that she'd slashed her palm, smeared the floors, and ripped satin feathers from the folds of her wings. Now she was weak and sore. It had taken her this long to recover her strength. She took a deep breath. "This is it…" she surveyed her ruin as the breeze from the outside stirred it on the floor, "from here out, I'm dead." It was time to move. The guards would be coming any minute. Shaking a little, she threw her legs over the windowsill and dropped out, spreading her magically healed but painfully tender wings to cushion her fall. Once on the ground she stumbled off into the trees, quickly vanishing from sight.

The two loyal guards opened the door for Areolar, who stepped on feathers when he entered. The guards lied as best they could. "See this is what we found when we came in here!" One look at the room derailed their train of thought. They'd expected a note but this was unreal. So many bloody feathers.

Areolar wasn't quite as surprised. He looked over the sticky mess until he spotted the note on the bed. "This is it?"

"Y-Yes sir!" One said. "We didn't touch it, we came straight to you."

The second remembered what Dhhiya had said about being scared. He spoke. "We can't find the Duke anywhere, we didn't know who else to report to!" He pulled every acting muscle in his body. "Is it true the rumors we've heard about murder?"

Areolar ignored him and read the note over several times. The guilt of killing her beloved Duke was too great, it said. She did not deserve either life or dignity in death… she was a fallen god, it said. Goodbye to a world she held no place in. She would tear herself in two. He would never see her again unless her broken lifeless body washed up on some forsaken bank somewhere after she threw herself off a mountain.

This would be hard to gloss over. Two deaths since he arrived, and the blanket of calling cards laying at his feet betraying the Draconian occupation of the country. Yes, this could be very hard to gloss over.

Or it could be the best possible thing to have happened.

"The note says that the advisor has killed her master." Areolar announced. The guards gasped loudly. Areolar was far to pleased with himself to notice. "Unfortunately she has killed herself out of guilt. She was an unstable woman, and it is unfortunate that we cannot bring her to justice, but what's done is done. Safil will have to take the throne and tell the people of Fried of Dhhiya's crime."

"Yes sir."

"See that this mess is cleaned up." Areolar commanded, crumpling the note and strutting out. "These feathers are from a pillow or something she destroyed in her madness. I want them burned."

"Yes sir."

The commander followed his pride down the hall back to the throne room where he gloated mightily. A peculiar look was growing in his eyes as he thought aloud. "The Grim Reaper seems to have delivered everything I've ever wanted to me. It got me here. It got rid of people in the way. It has even presented me with the perfect solution to my problem. Death is a good friend. Very loyal, always trustworthy. I should rely on Death more often." He got up and paced the side of the room. A line of shields and spears were hung decoratively down the wall. Each shield bore the crest of an old Duke, and was obvious victims of fire damage. All except for the last one. The recently deceased Duke Chid shone brightly in the torchlight. Areolar walked toward it. "All these Dukes are dead. I don't have to worry about them. My new regime will never mind the old laws of the past. Those laws are dead. It seems like all bad things go away when they die."

The logic made too much sense. He turned jovially on his heel. "The Draconians abandoned a whole world when it no longer served them. Now that's efficient! A whole world gone, just because it wasn't worthy of the gods. The gods could do the same thing here. We're too good for Gaea. I could wipe out any town or race with just a snap of my fingers. Killing the Duke was relatively painless… well, excusing that Dhhiya woman, but she got what she deserved. She was too weak… not worthy of the bright new Gaea of the Draconians. Just like that Virial wasn't worthy…" He hunched his shoulders and began to pace. "Or that human Duke. Or all humans. Or beast people. Beast people are even worse than humans, they do not even resemble the gods. I don't understand why they even exist."

The lizard handmaiden entered with a pitcher of water for throne table. She went about her duty making as little sound as possible, instructed to be invisible and not disturb their guest. Areolar spotted her right off and she froze.

He eyes studied her, her inhuman head arching upward on a thick neck, her eyes large and brown, set wide in her scaled face. Spines ran down from the crest of her head to the tip of her long tail and every inch of skin was green. He weighed this creature on the measure of his mind. Nothing angelic about this monster. This being must have crept out of the dark places of Gaea while the gods were distracted. The garbage of creation. A flaw in a perfect world.

With one swift motion he tore a spear from the wall and javelined it through her. She staggered and fell back, her eyes pulling tightly into quivering brown spots, then blanking as she died on the floor. Areolar could feel a thrilling fire burn in his chest.

"Yes!" He shouted. "Yes! Death my old friend, we just became partners! It will be easy to take back Gaea, now! Once all the imperfection is gone, the Draconians will be masters over this planet and the world will be paradise again!"

To be continued…


End file.
